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An expanded medical fee waiver mechanism under public healthcare reforms in Hong Kong will open for applications from patients on Monday, months before the new policy takes effect next year. The Hospital Authority said that patients with appointments scheduled for January or February at public hospitals could submit the required proof of income and assets to apply for the fee reduction starting from Monday. Those eligible for the waiver would be issued a certificate before their appointment, it said. Applications can be submitted to the medical social services units at public hospitals and clinics, and the integrated family service centres and other designated service units of the Social Welfare Department. Patients already holding a certificate can continue to receive the waiver until the document expires. Anyone receiving a partial fee reduction but set to be eligible for a full deduction under the expanded scheme can go to the medical social services units to declare their financial situation before their scheduled appointments or within three months of their hospitalisation. Priscilla Poon Yee-hung, the authority’s chief manager of allied health, said the statutory body had established special teams covering all seven of the city’s hospital clusters to handle the anticipated increase in the number of applications. “We currently have about 300,000 people eligible for medical fee reduction, while the number could reach 1.4 million under the relaxed mechanism. Therefore, we have calculated our manpower based on a fivefold increase in the number of eligible people,” she said. “We should be able to cope with the number of future applications.” In March, health authorities revealed plans to reform the public healthcare subsidy regime, with the new policies to take effect on January 1. The changes include increasing fees at general outpatient clinics, which provide community-based healthcare, from HK$50 per visit to HK$150. General outpatient patients will also need to pay HK$5 for each drug, for a four-week supply. Currently, they do not have to pay separately for it. Patients visiting accident and emergency departments who are considered “less urgent” – the lowest three categories in the five-level triage system – will also be charged HK$400, more than double the current HK$180 rate. The existing medical fee waiver mechanism will be expanded with relaxed criteria, with the income threshold increased from the current 75 per cent of the median monthly domestic household income to 100 per cent for households with two or more people. The income limit for one-person households will double to 150 per cent of the median. The waivers’ validity period will also be increased from 12 months to 18 months. The definition of “household” is set to be revised to exclude members living with the patient who have no direct financial ties from undergoing asset reviews. Poon said that the authority would provide a special arrangement from January to March, during which patients who had not completed their application for the fee waiver but needed treatment immediately or urgently would be issued a three-month conditional waiver after signing a declaration stating their financial situation. But they would need to submit all necessary documents for financial assessment within the conditional waiver period, she said. Any patient who failed to do so or did not meet the eligibility criteria for the fee reduction would have to pay all outstanding expenses. She also said the application process for the medical fee reduction would be simplified. For applicants whose family members are already benefiting from the fee reduction, the authority will refer to the financial documents submitted and only require them to provide any necessary or missing information. Residents aged 65 to 74 who are receiving the Old Age Living Allowance will only be required to submit proof that they are receiving the allowance, such as bank statements, without the need for income and asset proof. Online applications via the “HA Go” mobile app will also be made available from the third quarter of next year.
