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Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Miss Denise Yue, in the Legislative Council today (December 15):
Question:
The Standing Committee on Medical and Dental Facilities for Civil Servants (the Committee) introduced a Voluntary Medical Insurance Scheme for Civil Servants (the Scheme) in 1996 which serves as a supplement to the existing civil service medical and dental benefits for civil servants and their eligible dependants. Since October 2002, the Scheme has been extended to non-civil servants employed by the Government and their dependants. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) in each year since the introduction of the Scheme, of the respective numbers of civil servants and their eligible dependants as well as non-civil servants employed by the Government and their eligible dependants participating in the Scheme;
(b) since the introduction of the Scheme, whether the authorities have received any complaint about the insurance policies offered by the carriers of the Scheme from the participating staff members; if they have, of the number of complaints received each year; and
(c) given that at present a total of eight companies are engaged as carriers of the Scheme, and the eligibility of the carriers will be reviewed by the Committee annually, of the criteria adopted by the Committee in considering whether the eligibility of a particular carrier will be continued, as well as its criteria for considering if a particular company will be included as a carrier of the Scheme?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) Since the introduction of the Voluntary Medical Insurance Scheme for Civil Servants and Non-civil Servants Employed by the Government (the Scheme) in June 1996 till the end of 2008, each concerned carrier only provided a yearly cumulative total of its approved policies, including those policies that were no longer in force. Besides, the number of insured persons covered by each policy varied (insurances taken out by a staff member for himself and his dependants under the Scheme are covered by one policy). The Administration therefore cannot provide the number of staff members and their dependants joining the Scheme each year during the said period.
From 2009 onwards, the Civil Service Bureau has requested the carriers to provide the numbers of in-force policies and insured persons each year. As the carriers would not distinguish whether persons joining the Scheme are "civil servants and their dependants" or "non-civil servants employed by the Government and their dependants", the Administration can only provide the number of insured persons under the Scheme in 2009 and 2010 as follows:
Number of
insured persons
---------------
2009 2010
(As at October 31)
---- ------------------
Civil servants 44,060 44,203
and their
dependants,
and non-civil
servants employed
by the Government
and their
dependants
(b) According to records since June 1996, the number of complaints received from staff who have joined the Scheme about the insurance policies offered by the carriers are as follows:
Year No. of Complaints
---- ----------------
2006 1
2007 1
2009 1
2010(as at November 30) 1
(c) Under the existing arrangement, the Civil Service Bureau is responsible for co-ordinating the implementation of the Scheme. Every year, the existing carriers of the Scheme, companies which have written to express their interest in the Scheme, and the 10 companies with the highest gross premiums for medical insurance in the previous year in Hong Kong are invited to submit proposals for consideration by a Working Group under the Standing Committee on Medical and Dental Facilities for Civil Servants (SCMDF). The Working Group will make recommendations to the SCMDF for decision. The SCMDF and the Working Group comprise representatives from the Management and the four Central Civil Service Consultative Councils. The Working Group will consider factors such as coverage of the scheme, premium levels and compensation arrangements as proposed by the insurance companies before deciding whether to recommend to the SCMDF their appointment as new carriers of the Scheme. As for companies which have been appointed in the previous year, the Working Group will also consider the number of persons who have joined the Scheme with the concerned companies before deciding whether to recommend their re-appointment.
Ends/Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:11
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