Hong Kong to deploy 1,000 hospital staff to guide patients through fee reform

Hong Kong public hospitals will deploy more than 1,000 service ambassadors to assist residents when healthcare reforms take effect next Thursday, with authorities saying the system revamp to accommodate the fee changes is entering its final stage.\nDirector of Cluster Services Wong Yiu-chung said on Saturday that public hospital systems, including billing and dispensing, had been updated to reflect the adjusted fees aimed at addressing structural challenges in the healthcare sector.\nUnder the revamp set to take effect on January 1, the government aims to reduce its public healthcare subsidy rate from 97.6 per cent, one of the highest in the world, to 90 per cent by 2030.\n“We have completed the final stages of testing,” Wong told a radio show.\n“All systems are quite stable and I am quite confident the changes will be implemented as we expected.”\nHe said great effort had gone into publicising and explaining the different stages and scope of the reforms to both medical staff and residents.\nWong said one of the patients’ biggest concerns was the new medical fee waiver scheme, which expands eligibility for subsidised or free healthcare from 300,000 to 1.4 million people by relaxing income and asset limits.\nMedical fees would be capped at HK$10,000 (US$1,286) a year, excluding self-financed drugs and treatments, potentially benefiting 70,000 people with serious conditions requiring frequent hospital stays, the government said.\nThe income threshold is currently set at 75 per cent of the median monthly household income. But it will be raised to the median for families of two people or more, and 150 per cent of that for one-person households.\n\nIn addition to the 100 specialised staff already in the Hospital Authority network helping implement the scheme, Wong said more than 1,000 service ambassadors would be deployed at public hospitals and clinics during the initial phase to assist patients with waiver applications.\nIn November, health authorities began accepting applications for the new waiver scheme and announced special transitional arrangements from January to March next year.\nPriscilla Poon Yee-hung, the Hospital Authority’s chief manager of allied health, said residents would have ample time to submit the required documents during their follow-up consultations.\n“If patients feel that they cannot afford the new fees, we will have a conditional waiver arrangement where they sign a form declaring they have an urgent financial situation and submit the documents within three months,” she said.\n“But they must cooperate and submit the documents in time, or else we will send them the bill. We will assess to see whether they qualify for a partial or full waiver.”\nPoon reiterated that the overhaul of public healthcare fees was part of a broader effort to streamline services and reduce waste through a co-payment model.\nFrom January 1, only patients classified as critical or emergency cases will receive free treatment at accident and emergency (A&E) departments.\nThose assessed as urgent, semi-urgent, or non-urgent will be charged HK$400, up from the current HK$180.\nHowever, patients who leave A&E departments before a consultation will still be required to pay HK$50 for triage and nursing procedures, even if they apply for a refund of the initial fee.\nPoon said this was not the first time A&E fees had been adjusted, and frontline staff were familiar with the process.\nShe said the system had the capacity to handle patients on a case-by-case basis with flexibility at midnight and additional staff would be deployed to maintain order.\nEarlier, the authority said it would handle cases with discretion for patients unable to arrive on time or already in the vicinity.\n“Residents should not rush to the A&E at the eleventh hour before the fee adjustment,” she said, adding that they should go only if they were feeling unwell.\n“The most important thing is to avoid rushing, which will be a frightening sight. There is no need to approach [the fee change] with that mindset.”\n