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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-kin and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (November 25):
Question:
It is learnt that at present, quite a number of Hong Kong elderly people are residing on the Mainland (Hong Kong elderly people on the Mainland). Last month, the Government launched a pilot scheme under which eligible Hong Kong elderly people may use the Elderly Health Care Voucher (HCV) to pay for designated outpatient services in the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZ Hospital), which is jointly operated by the University of Hong Kong and the Shenzhen Municipal Government. However, some Hong Kong elderly people on the Mainland have remarked that as the majority of them reside in various areas outside Shenzhen in the Guangdong Province, they can hardly use HCV unless they travel a long distance to seek medical consultation at the HKU-SZ Hospital. The pilot scheme is therefore of very limited help to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the anticipated annual number of attendances of elderly people seeking medical consultation at the HKU-SZ Hospital and using HCV; the means and channels through which the authorities inform the Hong Kong elderly people on the Mainland of the details of the pilot scheme;
(2) when it will conduct a review of the pilot scheme and of the criteria based on which it will conduct the review;
(3) whether it will consider extending the pilot scheme to other areas in the Guangdong Province; if it will, of the targeted areas and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) whether the authorities anticipate that difficulties (e.g. the service quality and regulatory control of medical institutions), other than exchange rate issues, will be encountered when extending the pilot scheme to other areas or other medical institutions on the Mainland; if they do, of the details, and how the authorities will resolve such difficulties;
(5) whether it knows the respective numbers of Hong Kong medical institutions currently operating medical business on the Mainland in the form of joint venture and wholly-owned enterprise under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement; whether the authorities have discussed with those medical institutions the provision of medical services collaboratively for Hong Kong elderly people on the Mainland; if they have, of the details; if not, whether they will consider conducting such discussions; if they will, of the criteria to be adopted by the authorities for deciding whether they will co-operate with such medical institutions; and
(6) of the schemes that the authorities will launch in the long run, in addition to expanding the Elderly HCV Scheme, to meet the medical needs of the Hong Kong elderly people on the Mainland?
Reply:
President,
(1) The Pilot Scheme at the University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZ Hospital) under the Elderly Health Care Voucher (EHV) Scheme was launched on October 6, 2015. This is the first time that the Government allows elderly people to use health care vouchers outside Hong Kong. The objective of the pilot scheme is to provide Hong Kong elders who usually reside in Shenzhen an alternative to receive the necessary healthcare services locally without having to travel back to Hong Kong.
According to the statistics published by the Census and Statistics Department in September 2011, there were about 73 600 Hong Kong residents aged 60 or above residing in the Guangdong Province, of which 10 400 reside in Shenzhen. As elderly people residing in Hong Kong can also use health care vouchers at the HKU-SZ Hospital, it is difficult to assess the total number of elderly people who will use health care vouchers at the HKU-SZ Hospital.
In addition to the promotional efforts at the HKU-SZ Hospital, the Government publicises the pilot scheme through various channels with a view to enhancing the elders' understanding of the scheme. Leaflets are distributed and posters are put up at places such as immigration control points, Social Security Field Unit (Guangdong Scheme) of the Social Welfare Department, two residential care homes for the elderly that participate in the Pilot Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong, Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and non-profit-making organisations which provide services for Hong Kong residents residing in the Mainland. Moreover, information of the pilot scheme is released on the EHV website and advertisements are displayed on cross-boundary buses and buses serving the border areas, in the hope that more elders, especially those who make cross-boundary journeys, could learn about the pilot scheme.
(2) and (3) As the pilot scheme has only been launched for a short time, we plan to conduct a comprehensive review some time after its implementation. We will closely monitor the daily operation and implementation of the pilot scheme and based on the experience gained, consider the feasibility of extending the EHV scheme to other areas in the Mainland.
(4) The mode of operation under the pilot scheme at the HKU-SZ Hospital is similar to that adopted in Hong Kong and the scheme has largely been running smoothly since its implementation. As healthcare institutions and units are different in terms of administrative procedures, financial arrangement, operation environment and skills of staff, it is difficult for us to envisage the problems that we may encounter if the pilot scheme is to be extended.
(5) and (6) For the time being, we do not have detailed information about the healthcare institutions established by Hong Kong service providers in the Mainland.
As mentioned in parts (2) and (3) above, the pilot scheme was launched on October 6, 2015 and its effectiveness is yet to be evaluated. We will closely monitor the operation of the pilot scheme and, based on the principle of prudent use of public money, consider the feasibility of expanding the coverage of EHV scheme in the Mainland or introducing other healthcare schemes with reference to the experience gained.
Ends/Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:45
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