Hong Kong Health Insurance Articles

Without Insurance Prenatal Medical Conditions Risk Going Undiagnosed

Published on: 30 October 2019 by Michael Lamb

In recent weeks the Chinese University of Hong Kong revealed the successful development of a new test designed to detect a dangerous pregnancy condition; preterm pre-eclampsia. Under current healthcare protocols in Hong Kong only a quarter of women who are high-risk for developing preterm pre-eclampsia are diagnosed.

The condition is defined as “high-risk” for pregnancies, and can lead to death of both the mother and the fetus, but does not display any overt symptoms for expectant mothers meaning that it can often go undetected and undiagnosed, leading to severe mortality threats for both mother and child.

Government’s Newborn Insurance Scheme Deeply Flawed

Published on: 19 March 2019 by Michael Lamb

On March 17th 2019 the South China Morning Post reported that the government is set to unveil a new voluntary health insurance scheme that is meant to cater specifically to the medical needs of newborns and children for as little as HK$2,000 per year.

The government has launched the first stage of the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (also being called the VHS) with the intent of having young parents cover their children through private health insurance from 15 days to 100 years old.

The Future is Catching Up with the Past for Hong Kong’s Healthcare

Published on: 27 February 2019 by Michael Lamb

Hong Kong has long been famous for its well-run, affordable public healthcare system. With all public healthcare services receiving heavy subsidies from the government, the general public is (on the whole) able to receive high-quality low-cost medical treatment. However, with an aging population and overall population growth, coupled with an explosion of lifestyle and environmental related diseases, the city’s public healthcare services are increasingly being pushed to their limits. While healthcare reform is a continually mentioned in the legislature (with serious discussion on wholesale reform occurring as early as 2006), very little practical action has taken place. Since the start of 2019 the stress within the public healthcare system has become progressively more evident, and it is clear that some systemic changes need to happen.

The Current Healthcare Landscape in Hong Kong

CCW Global took and in-depth look the overall healthcare system in Hong Kong, both public and private, for the first time back in 2013. Since then the only real changes experienced by the public healthcare system have been some relatively minor price adjustments for the various services being offered: