Following is a question by the Hon Sunny Tan and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (September 25):
 
Question:
 
     The Government introduced the Guangdong (GD) Scheme and the Fujian (FJ) Scheme in 2013 and 2018 respectively to enable eligible Hong Kong elderly persons who choose to retire in GD or FJ Provinces to receive an Old Age Allowance or an Old Age Living Allowance without having to return to Hong Kong every year. Regarding support for Hong Kong elderly persons retiring in the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) given that according to government figures, 26 592 and 2 542 elderly persons had enrolled in GD Scheme and FJ Scheme respectively as at June this year, while data from the Census and Statistics Department and the Fuzhou population census show that in 2020, around 90 000 Hong Kong elderly persons were residing long-term in GD Province and 1 667 in Fuzhou of FJ Province alone, and there are views that the relevant statistics reflect that many Hong Kong elderly persons retiring in GD and FJ Provinces do not intend to apply for the two schemes, whether the Government has examined the reasons behind this; whether it has studied how to enhance complementary policy measures and support to address the concerns of elderly persons, thereby attracting more elderly persons intending to retire in GD and FJ Provinces to apply for the two schemes;
 
(2) as the authorities announced in May this year the extension of the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme (EHCV Pilot Scheme) to cover all nine Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and indicated that they would consider implementing the scheme in other locations (such as FJ Province) after assessing the effectiveness of EHCV Pilot Scheme, of the progress of the relevant work; and
 
(3) as the authorities announced in March this year the extension of the Pilot Scheme for Supporting Patients of the Hospital Authority in the GBA (SPHA Pilot Scheme), which enables eligible patients of the Hospital Authority (HA) to receive subsidised consultation services at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, and the Government has also indicated that it will evaluate the effectiveness of SPHA Pilot Scheme and its scope of services with HA each year and make necessary adjustments in a timely manner, whether the authorities will consider extending SPHA Pilot Scheme to suitable Tier 3 Class A hospitals in other GBA Mainland cities and FJ Province; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:
 
President,
 
     In consultation with the Health Bureau, I reply to the Hon Tan's question as follows:
 
(1) The current portable cash assistance measures include the Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme and the Guangdong (GD) Scheme and Fujian (FJ) Scheme under the Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme.
 
     In recent years, the Government has continually improved the SSA Scheme, for instance by merging the Normal and Higher Old Age Living Allowances from September 2022 and relaxing the absence limit of SSA Scheme's pre-application requirement of one-year continuous residence in Hong Kong from September 2023. These enhancements apply to the GD Scheme and FJ Scheme. Over the past three years, the total number of beneficiaries under the GD Scheme and FJ Scheme has risen by approximately 30 per cent: beneficiaries of the GD Scheme increased from 19 509 in 2021-22 to 26 077 in 2024-25; and beneficiaries of the FJ Scheme increased from 1 963 in 2021-22 to 2 510 in 2024-25.
 
     Hong Kong elderly persons who are planning to retire or have already retired in the GD and FJ Provinces decide on whether to join the GD Scheme or FJ Scheme based on their individual circumstances with varying reasons. The Government does not have relevant information in this regard.

     To assist Hong Kong elderly persons in understanding the above Schemes, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) appoints agents to publicise and promote the Schemes through multiple channels, including putting in place thematic webpages, setting up mobile outreach stations, distributing promotional leaflets and organising sharing sessions. The SWD also provides electronic forms to facilitate online applications by the elderly. If an elderly person is unable to return to Hong Kong for health reasons, the SWD's agents will conduct home visits on the Mainland to help him/her complete the application. The SWD and its agents will continue to promote the Schemes to eligible elderly persons and assist in their applications.
 
(2) The Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme in 2024, offering more convenience and flexibility to eligible Hong Kong elderly persons by providing more service points in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) for them to better use their Elderly Health Care Vouchers (EHCVs) on primary healthcare services to improve health conditions. Since June 2024, the Government has extended the coverage of EHCVs by phases to seven integrated medical/dental institutions in the Mainland cities in the GBA, covering Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Dongguan and Shenzhen. In May this year, the Government announced an extension of the Pilot Scheme to include 12 additional medical institutions for full coverage of nine Mainland cities in the GBA and the goal was fully achieved in August. Together with the two existing service points operated by the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH), eligible elderly persons can use their EHCVs at a total of 21 service points in the Mainland cities in the GBA, benefitting more than 1.78 million eligible Hong Kong elderly persons.

     The extension of the Pilot Scheme to full coverage of nine Mainland cities in the GBA marks another milestone in policy innovation and cross-boundary medical collaboration. The Pilot Scheme is still in its initial operation period. We will continue to assess and monitor the operation and usage of EHCVs in the pilot medical institutions and review the effectiveness of the Pilot Scheme in due course before studying further arrangements.
 
(3) Under the Pilot Scheme for Supporting Patients of the Hospital Authority in the GBA, eligible patients of the Hospital Authority (HA) may choose to receive subsidised consultation services at designated collaborating healthcare institution in GBA Mainland cities. The Pilot Scheme aims to provide Hong Kong people with more choices when receiving HA's services, and is currently applicable to the HKU-SZH. Building on the Pilot Scheme and targeting specific HA services, the Government will explore the introduction of more healthcare choices of receiving services in the Mainland cities in the GBA for patients with follow-up appointments in the HA. Relevant measures will be rolled out once ready. At present, the Government will focus on identifying suitable Mainland healthcare institutions within the GBA and consider various factors such as the quality of healthcare services, cost-effectiveness, as well as cross-boundary laws and regulations, in accordance with the principle of complementarity and mutual benefits with the Mainland.

Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:45

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