The medical subsidy programme – aka health voucher programme – was launched in 2009. The government started to issue digital health vouchers in 2018, according to which beneficiaries use their medical subsidy with their ID card when receiving health services at participating entities.
Previously, printed vouchers were issued.
The health voucher programme only covers permanent local residents, with each of them receiving 600 patacas every year.
Lo made the remarks when chairing a regular meeting of the Medical Affairs Council – a government-appointed consultative body tasked with advising the government on its policy on the development of the city’s health sector.
The Health Bureau announced details about the meeting in a statement yesterday. The statement did not mention when the meeting was held, merely saying that it was held “recently”. The council holds a regular meeting monthly.
The council, which is chaired by the director of the Health Bureau, consists of several health officials, representatives from the city’s health sector in various medical fields, and several members from other sectors in civil society.
Lo underlined that the health voucher programme aims to help health professionals in the private sector develop their careers, promote the development of family medicine, encourage residents to pay close attention to their state of health, strengthen public-private health partnership, and make good use of community health resources.
Lo reaffirmed that the government has been constantly improving the implementation of its medical subsidy programme since its launch, including a major reform launched in 2018 that has replaced the printed vouchers with digital ones. Lo said that the issuing of digital health vouchers has made it more convenient for residents to use their medical subsidy, made it easier for health institutions to receive the subsidy, and increased the government’s administrative efficiency in its management of the programme. Digital health vouchers have also been effective in preventing members of health institutions from violating the programme’s rules, yesterday’s statement quoted Lo as saying.
According to the statement, health officials said during the meeting that the number of violations in the use of the government’s medical subsidy has “enormously” declined since the implementation of digital health vouchers.
The statement also quoted Lo as saying that the issuing of digital health vouchers has been conducive to the government’s ongoing process to gradually establish a platform on healthcare big data.
Meanwhile, Lo also noted during the meeting that the government’s COVID-19 prevention and control work has been “normalised” as the novel coronavirus pandemic has now lasted for over two years. Lo urged health professionals in the private sector to always remain vigilant against the COVID-19 threat and to prepare for in-depth participation in the city’s fight against the novel coronavirus at any time.
Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long (centre) chairs a recent closed-door meeting of the government’s Medical Affairs Council, as the council’s vice-chairwoman Ung Pui Kun (left) and its secretary-general Leong Pui San look on. Photo: SSM
