LCQ10: Health Protection Scheme
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Leung Ka-lau and a
written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the
Legislative Council today (November 14):
Question:
The Government of the last term advocated the
development of the "medical services industry" and recommended the
implementation of a voluntary "Health Protection Scheme" (HPS) to
enable more members of the public to access private healthcare, thereby
relieving the pressure on the public healthcare system. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the total number of hospital beds, bed occupancy rate,
number of discharges and deaths, as well as number of patient days in private
hospitals in each of the past 10 years, setting out the information according
to the table attached; and
(b) whether the incumbent Government has modified the policies on the medical
services industry and the voluntary HPS; if so, of the details; if not, the
latest timetable for taking forward the two policies?
Reply:
President,
The healthcare system in Hong Kong comprises both
the public and private healthcare sectors which are complementary to each
other. The public healthcare system is the cornerstone of local
healthcare system and safety net to all Hong Kong citizens, providing them with
equitable, quality and less expensive healthcare services. The
private healthcare sector mainly complements the public healthcare services by
providing a choice for those who are able and can afford private healthcare
services. We will continue with the twin-track healthcare system,
which has worked well for us, and facilitate the balanced and sustainable
development of the public and private healthcare sectors.
My reply to the various parts of the question is
as follows:
(a) The table in Annex shows the utilisation of hospital beds in
private hospitals.
(b) As regards facilitating the development of private hospitals, the
Government has reserved four sites at Wong Chuk Hang, Tseung Kwan O, Tai Po and
Lantau for this purpose. We first carried out a tender exercise in
April this year for the two sites at Wong Chuk Hang and Tai Po. This
tender exercise was closed at the end of July this year and assessment of the
tenders is currently underway. In light of the outcome and experience
from this tender exercise, we will formulate our future direction and
arrangements for facilitating the development of private hospitals having
regard to the needs of the community.
As for the Health Protection Scheme (HPS), we are
now formulating detailed proposals for it. The HPS aims to
complement the public healthcare system by providing more choices with better
protection to those who are able and willing to pay for private health
insurance and use private healthcare services. This would in turn
better enable the public healthcare system to focus on serving its target
areas, thereby enhancing the long-term sustainability of our healthcare system.
A Working Group and a Consultative Group on the
HPS have been set up under the Health and Medical Development Advisory
Committee (HMDAC). The Working Group will make recommendations on
matters concerning the implementation of the HPS, including supervisory and
institutional frameworks, key components of the HPS standard plans, and rules
and mechanism in support of the operation of the HPS. The Working
Group will be supported by the Consultative Group, which will collect views and
suggestions from the wider community and pass them to the Working Group for
reference and consideration. The Working Group is expected to
complete its various studies and submit detailed proposals on the HPS to the
HMDAC by 2013.