Gov?t cautious on health vouchers

2019-12-05 08:13:49

The Government does not have plans to extend the use of elderly healthcare vouchers on the Mainland.

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan told legislators today that the Government needs to look into a number of factors when considering whether there are suitable medical institutions for extending the use of the vouchers on the Mainland.

These factors include the quality of healthcare, clinical governance structure, administrative procedures, financial arrangement, operating environment and employee skills of the institution as well as the views of stakeholders, including healthcare professionals and patients in Hong Kong.

The Government is particularly concerned about how to monitor voucher use.

Since the relevant laws and codes of practice of Hong Kong are not applicable to medical institutions and healthcare professionals in places outside the city, it would be difficult to follow up on noncompliance by institutions or individuals that have no connection with Hong Kong, Prof Chan said.

The Government currently has no arrangements on further extending the use of vouchers on the Mainland, she added.

In 2015, the Government launched a pilot scheme to facilitate Hong Kong elders who reside in areas near Shenzhen to receive outpatient medical care services in Shenzhen.

They can use vouchers to pay for outpatient medical care services provided by designated centres and departments of the University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital. The pilot scheme was regularised in June.

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