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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Han-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (May 6):
Question:
It is learnt that quite a number of Hong Kong residents (especially retired elderly persons) reside on the Mainland at present, and some of them prefer to return to Hong Kong for medical treatment because the healthcare system on the Mainland is different from that in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has grasped the current number of and the situation concerning those Hong Kong residents residing on the Mainland seeking consultation at the medical institutions on the Mainland; if it has, of the details;
(2) given that the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (Shenzhen Hospital), which is operated by the University of Hong Kong in collaboration with the Shenzhen Municipal Government, commenced operation in 2012 and brought in Hong Kong-style hospital management models and medical technologies, whether the Government knows the situation since 2012 concerning those Hong Kong residents residing on the Mainland seeking consultation at the Shenzhen Hospital;
(3) whether it knows the number of Hong Kong residents residing on the Mainland who returned to Hong Kong to seek consultation at the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals or public general out-patient clinics in the past three years;
(4) given that the Government plans to extend the coverage of the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme to the Mainland and use the Shenzhen Hospital as the pilot institution, of the details of the pilot scheme, including the technical issues to be resolved; and
(5) whether the authorities have explored ways to apply the experience of implementing the pilot scheme mentioned in (4) for extending the coverage of the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme on the Mainland; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question raised by Hon Chan Han-pan is as follows:
(1) We do not have any statistics on the number and situation of Hong Kong residents residing in the Mainland who seek medical consultations at healthcare institutions in the Mainland.
(2), (4) and (5) To allow Hong Kong elders who choose to reside in the Mainland to use their elderly health care vouchers at designated Mainland hospitals or clinics, we are discussing with the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZ Hospital) to launch a pilot scheme. Under the pilot scheme, eligible elders will be able to use their health care vouchers to pay for the primary care services provided by the HKU-SZ Hospital. The pilot scheme will operate on the electronic platform developed for the health care vouchers, and is expected to be launched this year. We are now working on the specific details of the pilot scheme including workflow and administrative arrangements. At present, we do not have any detailed information about the number of Hong Kong people residing in the Mainland who seek medical consultations at the HKU-SZ Hospital.
After the pilot scheme at the HKU-SZ Hospital has been operating for some time, the Government will conduct a review and consider the appropriate scope of extending the use of elderly health care vouchers in the Mainland.
(3) Under the existing policy, all eligible Hong Kong residents, whether they live in the Mainland or not, may use public healthcare services subsidised by the Government. As eligible persons are not required to declare whether they live in the Mainland when they seek medical consultations, the Hospital Authority does not have the figures concerning Hong Kong people residing in the Mainland who return to Hong Kong for medical treatment.
Ends/Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Issued at HKT 13:08
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