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LCQ18: Dental grants to CSSA recipients
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    Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, to a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki on dental grants to CSSA recipients in the Legislative council today (July 11):

Question:

     At present, Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") recipients who wish to apply for grants to cover costs of dental treatment ("dental grants") are required to approach clinics designated by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") for an estimate of cost at their own expense (the fee being $40 to $120) and then submit the estimate to the SWD Social Security Field Unit in their own district to apply for the grant.  The whole process takes four weeks to three months.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the total amount of dental grants disbursed by SWD and the number of beneficiaries in each of the past five years;

(b) of the reasons for allowing only those CSSA recipients who are old, disabled or in ill health to apply for dental grants;

(c) of the respective numbers of SWD designated clinics which are operated by non-profit-making organisations and privately-run; and

(d) given an upward trend in the number of low-income and poor people in recent years, whether it will review the relevant policy and consider providing dental grants to people who are not CSSA recipients; if so, when the review will be conducted?

Reply:

Madam President,

     Under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme, CSSA recipients who are old, disabled or medically certified to be in ill health are given a special grant for dental treatment (dental grant) to cover the actual expenses of the relevant treatment. The maximum grant is the ceiling amount of the treatment items (dentures, crowns, bridges, scaling, fillings and root canal treatment) set by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) in consultation with the Department of Health (DH).

     Under the existing arrangements, eligible CSSA recipients may seek services from 36 dental clinics designated by the SWD. They are entitled to a special grant to cover the cost (the registration and check-up fee is normally less than $50 at designated clinics) of registration and check-up (including the cost of obtaining an estimate of cost).  They may also apply for an advance payment of this grant, if necessary.  

     Currently, 13 SWD-designated dental clinics do not require any prior appointment.  These clinics can provide the recipients with dental check-up and an estimate of cost on the same day.  In most cases, the waiting period for the remaining 23 designated dental clinics which require prior appointment does not exceed seven working days.

     After the check-up and upon the receipt of an estimate of cost from a designated dental clinic, the CSSA recipient may apply for the dental grant from the SWD.  Upon receipt of the estimate of cost and the completion of the vetting process, the SWD will normally disburse the dental grant within seven working days.  The CSSA recipient, upon receiving approval of the dental grant, is free to call on a registered dentist of a non-designated clinic for the same service.
 
     My replies to the specific questions raised by Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki are set out below:

(a) Under the CSSA Scheme, the total amount of dental grants disbursed by the SWD and the number of grant recipients over the past five years are tabulated in Annex 1.

(b) For able-bodied CSSA recipients aged below 60, they may use the emergency dental services (i.e. pain relief and extraction of teeth) provided free by the DH to the public.  In cases where the recipients are in genuine financial hardship and unable to afford the dental expenses, the Director of Social Welfare may consider, depending upon the merits of individual cases, a discretionary payment of special grant for the expenses.

(c) At present, the 36 dental clinics designated by the SWD are all run by voluntary agencies (see Annex 2).

     The Government's policy on oral health is based on prevention and seeks to promote public awareness through publicity and education.  At the same time, the Government provides free emergency dental services for persons with urgent and special needs.  There are also a number of private and non-governmental organisations providing dental services for the public at a reasonable fee.  The Government thus has no intention of changing the existing arrangements for the disbursement of dental grants to eligible CSSA recipients.

Ends/Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:58

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