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The Government today (October 5) announced the launching of a pilot scheme at the University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZ Hospital) to enable eligible Hong Kong elderly persons to use the Elderly Health Care Voucher (HCV) in the hospital starting from tomorrow for designated out-patient services.
The Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, signed a service agreement on the pilot scheme with the Hospital Chief Executive of the HKU-SZ Hospital, Professor Grace Tang, in the hospital this afternoon, witnessed by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam; the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man; the Deputy Mayor of Shenzhen, Ms Wu Yihuan; and the head of the Shenzhen Public Hospital Management Center, Mr Wang Daping.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr Ko said he hoped that the pilot scheme can provide one more place for Hong Kong elderly people to use the HCV. He said the Food and Health Bureau will closely monitor the operation of the scheme, adding that the bureau will study and consider to further expand the scope of the use of the HCV on the Mainland with reference to the experience gained.
After the signing ceremony, Mrs Lam and Dr Ko, together with other Hong Kong delegates, toured the hospital facilities to understand more about the operation of the hospital.
Currently, Hong Kong residents aged 70 or above holding a valid Hong Kong identity card (HKIC) or Certificate of Exemption (CoE) issued by the Immigration Department are eligible to open an account to use the HCV to settle the fees of primary care services provided by service providers participating in the scheme. Elderly persons intending to use the HCV under the pilot scheme should visit the HKU-SZ Hospital in person and show a valid HKIC or CoE to use the HCV for out-patient services provided by designated clinics/departments on the same day.
The HCV is issued and claimed through an electronic platform. The HKU-SZ Hospital would make voucher claims for the elderly and the usage records in their accounts would be updated immediately. Upon completion, printed records of the voucher balance would be given to the elderly for retention.
The HCV can be used for designated out-patient services provided by the HKU-SZ Hospital, including preventive care as well as curative and rehabilitative services, but not in-patient and pre-paid healthcare services or sole purchase of products, such as medicine and medical equipment. Furthermore, the HCV cannot be redeemed for cash or transferred to another person.
As the HCV is in Hong Kong dollars while fees for healthcare services provided by the HKU-SZ Hospital are in Renminbi, the voucher amount to be deducted from the elderly person's voucher account in Hong Kong dollars under the pilot scheme would be calculated according to a monthly updated voucher conversion factor set by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The HKU-SZ Hospital will display the voucher conversion factor of the corresponding month at the shroff offices responsible for processing voucher claims.
At present, the annual voucher amount is $2,000, with an accumulation limit for unused vouchers set at $4,000.
The eligible elderly and their families may get more information from the channels below:
* The website of the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (www.hcv.gov.hk);
* The hotline of the Department of Health's Health Care Voucher Unit (852) 3582 4102;
* The website of the HKU-SZ Hospital (www.hku-szh.org/en/index.html); or
* The appointment hotline of the HKU-SZ Hospital (86) 0755 8691 3399.
Ends/Monday, October 5, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:40
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