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Private healthcare consultation opens

December 15, 2014

The Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme alone cannot meet all the challenges faced by the healthcare system, which is why a consultation on reviewing private healthcare facilities must also be carried out, Secretary for Food & Health Dr Ko Wing-man said today.

 

Speaking at a press conference to simultaneously launch three-month public consultations on the voluntary health insurance scheme and on regulating private healthcare facilities, Dr Ko said that the current ordinances were enacted in the 1960s and are out-of-date, and high-risk medical procedures are no longer only performed in hospitals, so a detailed review of the regulations could protect consumer rights.

 

The proposed new regulatory regime will cover three classes of private healthcare facilities including hospitals, facilities providing high-risk medical procedures in an ambulatory setting, and facilities providing medical services under the management of incorporated bodies.

 

Key recommendations include requiring the private healthcare facilities to prepare a fee schedule setting out all charges that may be levied and that patients should be informed of the estimated total charges on or before admission to private hospitals.

 

For the definition of high-risk medical procedures, not only the procedure itself, but also the anaesthesia involved and the patient’s condition will be considered.

 

Currently, the maximum penalty is $2,000 and the daily fine for continuous contravention is only $50, which is not enough of a deterrent at today’s price levels. One of the proposals for consideration is to increase it to a maximum penalty of $1million and $10,000 daily fine.

 

The consultation period will last until March 16, 2015.



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