Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ5: Study of healthcare financing arrangements and review of public medical fees
Following is a question by the Hon Yeung Sum and a reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (July 12):
Question:
Regarding the authorities' proposals on healthcare financing and revisions to
public medical care fees, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities have drawn up a concrete timetable for announcing
the proposals on healthcare financing, conducting public consultation on the
proposals and implementing them; if they have, of the details; if not, the
reasons for that;
(b) as the comments made earlier by the Chairman and Chief Executive of the
Hospital Authority (HA) about the modes of healthcare financing and increase in
public medical care fees, which are still under consideration, have aroused
concern among some members of the public, whether the authorities will
strengthen their communication and understanding with HA in releasing news about
the modes of healthcare financing and revisions to public medical care fees; and
(c) whether the authorities will undertake to refrain from putting forward any
proposals to increase fees for individual medical care items before announcing a
comprehensive proposal on healthcare financing?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) We are now in the process of collecting and analysing the relevant data in
our study of healthcare financing arrangements, and carrying out detailed
calculations with regard to the different options under consideration. As the
issues involved and the calculations required are more complicated than
expected, we have to further analyse the preliminary statistical data obtained
and need more time to complete the study.
(b) The Administration has been maintaining close liaison with the Hospital
Authority (HA). For instance, government officials take part in HA's
decision-making process as members of the HA Board and I also hold working
meetings with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the HA. Besides, the Chairman
of the HA, as a member of both the Health and Medical Development Advisory
Committee and its Health Care Financing Working Group, is directly involved in
the discussion of the relevant issues. The HA has also played an important role
in the review of public medical fees by providing assistance to the
Administration in conducting studies on the service usage patterns of patients
in public hospitals and clinics and in assessing the affordability of the
general public. Therefore, there is no question of a lack of communication and
understanding between the Administration and the HA.
The study of healthcare financing arrangements and the review of public medical
fees are highly complicated. This, coupled with the widely varied public views,
necessitates us to invite more public discussions of the issues in order to
reach a consensus before we can take the matter forward. HA, as a statutory body
and Hong Kong's major public medical services provider, could make public its
views on healthcare financing arrangements and the review of public medical
fees, as these views can stimulate public discussions, which can in turn help us
explore the way forward.
(c) The public medical services currently provided by the Hospital Authority
(HA) are heavily subsidised and some users of HA's services may not be aware of
the actual costs of the services they received, which may in turn lead to
abusive use of such services and wastefulness of medical resources. It is
therefore a major objective of the current review of public medical fees to
instil a more appropriate sense of value amongst the public by charging them an
appropriate amount of medical fees so as to reduce instances of abuse and
misuse.
While the review of public medical fees and the study of healthcare financing
arrangements are different in terms of their objectives, the HA and the
Administration will certainly take account of, and work along, the long-term
direction of healthcare financing when putting forth proposals on public medical
fees revision in future.
Ends/Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:48
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