Government aims to unveil public hospital fee adjustment this month: John Lee

Details of the public healthcare fee adjustment plan are expected to be revealed this month, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said following reports that public hospitals are considering a two-tier charge for accident and emergency (A&E) services.

Ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Lee noted the adjustment is part of healthcare reform and has instructed the Health Bureau to review the charges according to specific principles.

“First, this is not intended to reduce expenditure, we should not be spending less overall, but rather redistributing expenditures for efficiency and effectiveness,” he explained.

“Second, priority should be given to those in greatest need, including assistance for economically disadvantaged individuals and patients facing urgent and severe medical conditions.”

It is known that under the new plan, patients falling under the critical and emergency categories would receive treatment for free, while urgent, semi-urgent and non-urgent patients would be charged more than the current HK$180 fee.

Lawmaker Rebecca Chan Hoi-yan said on a radio program that she understands the emergency rooms often deal with non-urgent cases, which justifies the Hospital Authority’s fee adjustments.

However, she raised concerns about defining critical and emergency categories, noting that this could lead to disputes between doctors and patients, as well as potential delays in treatment.

Meanwhile, Lee stated that he and the SAR government “attach great importance” to the city’s third medical school, noting that the task group on the new medical school is actively reviewing the proposals submitted by the three universities.

He noted that the task group comprises local and overseas members with extensive experience in medical education and university management, including representatives from the Medical Council of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. 

The task group will assess whether the submitted proposals meet the established criteria, including professional standards for doctors, overall resources, and deployment.

Lee stressed that the task group will specifically focus on the ten considerations set by the government and hopes to complete their review promptly, submitting a report to the authorities. 

During the review, the task group will communicate extensively with the three applied universities —  Hong Kong Baptist University, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology — to discuss and understand the level of compliance with each condition.

(Cheng Wong)