Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ14: Public and private health care services in Hong Kong
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council
today (December 14):
Question:
The "Building a Healthy Tomorrow - Discussion Paper on the Future Service
Delivery Model for our Health Care System" published in July this year
recommended that the Government should review the fees and charges of accident
and emergency (A&E) service and specialist out-patient service of public
hospitals, such that hospital services will not cost significantly less compared
to a family doctor's service. This step is essential towards minimizing the
unnecessary attraction for patients to utilize public hospital services. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the criteria adopted by the Hospital Authority (HA) for calculating
medical costs, and how HA estimates its expenses and the amount of deficits for
the coming five years;
(b) of the fees and charges, costs and the relevant calculation methods of the
services provided by the public medical system, including those of the A&E
service, general and specialist out-patient services, in-patient service and
surgery; patients' average length of stay in hospital, broken down by specialty,
type of surgery and disease;
(c) how the information mentioned in (b) compares to that of the services
provided by the local private medical system and by overseas public and private
medical systems; and
(d) of the plans and incentives to encourage the public to reduce abusing public
hospital services, take out medical insurance voluntarily, and turn to private
clinics or private hospitals for treatment?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Hospital Authority (HA) calculates the costs of its medical services by
taking into account all operating costs for providing such services, including
staff, drugs, supplies and consumables, the allocated costs of clinical and
administrative supporting services, and the cost of supporting services provided
by Government departments. The capital costs of hospital building facilities are
not taken into account.
The Government and the HA are reviewing the long-term funding mechanism for
public hospital services, taking into account the recommendations of the Health
and Medical Development Advisory Committee in their report entitled "Building a
Better Healthy Tomorrow" on the future service model of medical services. The HA
will work to maintain its overall expenditure at the existing level; however,
given the possible changes that may arise in the funding mechanism, the HA is
not in a position to project its financial position in five years.
(b) The fees and unit costs of HA's inpatient services by major specialties,
specialist outpatient services by major specialties, accident and emergency
services and general outpatient services in 2004-05 are set out in Table.
Statistical data on the average length of stay by operation or disease are not
available.
(c) The HA has not conducted any comparative studies on the fees and unit costs
of its services with the local private medical system or with overseas public
and private medical system.
(d) The Administration does not have an enumerated policy at this time for
encouraging the public to procure medical insurance. In respect of the use of
private medical services, we are conducting a new round of review on public
medical fees with a view to targeting government subsidies to patients and
services most in need as well as redressing the imbalance between the private
and public medical sectors.
Ends/Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Issued at HKT 11:56
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Table to LCQ14