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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (November 3):
Question:
Regarding poverty of the elderly in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council whether the following statistics are available; if not, of the reasons for that:
(a) the number of elderly persons aged 60 or above (the "old age" category of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme) who received CSSA allowances and the number of such cases from the first quarter of 2000 to the second quarter of 2010, together with a breakdown by household size;
(b) the number of recipients of Old Age Allowance from the first quarter of 2000 to the second quarter of 2010, together with a breakdown by age (ie aged 65 to 69 and 70 or above);
(c) the number of elderly patients who were granted fee waivers under the medical fee waiver mechanism of public hospitals and clinics from the first quarter of 2000 to the second quarter of 2010, together with a breakdown by age (ie aged 60 to 64, 65 to 69 and 70 or above);
(d) the number of elderly persons with chronic illnesses from the first quarter of 2000 to the second quarter of 2010, together with a breakdown by age (ie aged 60 to 64, 65 to 69 and 70 or above) and type of illness; and
(e) the number of elderly persons aged 60 or above from the first quarter of 2000 to the second quarter of 2010, together with a breakdown by type of housing?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question of the Hon Leung Yiu-chung is set out below:
(a) Between 2000 and June 2010, the number of cases and the number of recipients under the old age category of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme, with breakdown by the number of eligible household members, are at Annex A.
(b) Between 2000 and June 2010, the number of recipients of Normal Old Age Allowance (OAA) who were then aged 65 to 69, and the number of recipients of Higher OAA who were then aged 70 or above, are at Annex B.
OAA is a cash allowance provided to Hong Kong residents aged 65 or above, with the aim of helping them meet special needs arising from old age. As OAA recipients are largely not subject to any means test, there is no direct correlation between the receipt of OAA and the economic situation of these recipients.
(c) At present, patients who are CSSA recipients are exempted from the payment of fees for public health services. Non-CSSA patients may apply for medical fee waiver through social workers at public hospitals and clinics. In processing their applications, social workers take into account the financial and medical needs of the applicants, as well as other related factors.
The number of patients granted medical fee waiver by the Hospital Authority ("HA") between April 2002 and June 2010, with breakdown by age group as requested in the question, is at Annex C. Data prior to April 2002 are not available from the computer system of HA.
(d) The number of patients with chronic illnesses who attended General Out-patient Clinics of HA between 2006 and 2009 is set out in the table below. These patients only include those suffering from diabetes or/and hypertension, and do not include those with other chronic illnesses. Data prior to 2006 are not available from the computer system of HA.
Year Aged 60 Aged 65 Aged 70 Total
to 64 to 69 or above
---- ------- ------- -------- -----
2006 50,000 58,000 181,000 289,000
2007 57,000 59,000 192,000 308,000
2008 64,000 59,000 206,000 329,000
2009 71,000 62,000 214,000 347,000
(e) According to the findings of the General Household Survey of the Census and Statistics Department, the number of persons aged 60 or above by the type of housing between 2000 and the second quarter of 2010 is at Annex D.
Ends/Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:31
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