Low-income Hongkongers stuck in endless red tape of medical fee waiver process

Hong Kong security guard Yau has been caught in a protracted cycle of back-and-forth communications with social workers ever since she applied for a medical fee waiver early last November. The 63-year-old, who only gave her surname, shared her frustrations with the Post as she sought financial help amid a new fee regime in public hospitals that took effect on Thursday. “It’s truly a hassle. I need to contact the Jockey Club to get my husband’s betting account records, and then HSBC for all our bank statements, and also our insurance agent to get my life insurance policy document, which I bought decades ago,” she said. “I have made multiple trips to the hospital for this application, and every time I’m told another document is still missing.” Yau is among many low-income patients whose medical fee waiver application has been left in limbo due to exhaustive requirements for proof of income and assets. Their predicament has prompted concern groups to urge the government to reduce red tape and improve the approval process. Under the new regime, each visit to the accident and emergency department at a public hospital costs HK$400 (US$51) for less urgent cases, up from HK$180, while consultation fees at family clinics have risen from HK$50 to HK$150 per session. To better support patients in need, the government announced last March that it would relax the income and asset limit for a medical fee waiver, making an extra 1.1 million Hongkongers eligible for aid. The Hospital Authority has received around 50,000 applications since the scheme opened on November 1, with about 35,000 of them approved by Thursday. Dr Libby Lee Ha-yun, the Hospital Authority’s chief executive, earlier said the figure was within the government’s expectations, as only patients of the public healthcare system were expected to apply for the waiver. With a monthly income of HK$12,000, Yau said she was the family’s sole breadwinner and her husband’s carer. He had a stroke a few years ago and needed to be placed in a day care centre every day so she could work. About a third of her earnings went towards rent for their public rental flat, leaving the couple with around HK$300 to live on each day. While she did not have major chronic illnesses that required regular follow-up treatment, she fell sick from time to time and could not afford the new prices at public hospitals and family clinics, she said. Yau was glad to hear she was eligible for a fee waiver under the relaxed criteria, but little did she know the application process would be so difficult. “What’s the point of putting up so many barriers here? It’s not really a big favour to ask,” she said. “I won’t visit a public doctor if I can put up with the symptoms. I only go when I’m very sick.” She hoped authorities would soon relieve her of the stress of chasing after different parties for documents by approving her application. “Living from hand to mouth, it’s really hard for me to manage my health. I was advised to seek physiotherapy earlier to treat my arthritis, but I had to turn it down because I needed to work,” she said. “I hope the government can at least acknowledge the financial challenges we face.” Under the new arrangement, the income threshold for a fee waiver was relaxed from 75 per cent of the median monthly household income to 100 per cent. The asset limit was revised to match the levels for applying for public rental housing. A HK$10,000 cap on medical expenses was also introduced to support patients with severe illnesses, who required frequent hospital stays. Ivan Lin Wai-kiu, a community organiser at the Society for Community Organisation, said that Yau’s case was typical, with many facing similar situations seeking the group’s help. Lin said some applicants were even asked to print the transaction records of their Alipay and WeChat Pay digital wallets, in addition to bank statements from the last six months. This meant they had to send hundreds of pages of documents to their medical social workers for scrutiny. Lin urged authorities to cut the red tape and streamline the process. “It would be great if authorities allowed patients to declare their assets and conduct spot checks instead of asking them to provide all the information, as well as take into account the welfare payouts they are receiving,” he said. “Some are already on a working family allowance, which means they have been deemed poor and need cash support. Can’t they get a direct green light when applying for a medical fee waiver without going through all the assessments again?” In a reply to the Post, the Hospital Authority declined to comment and cited a previous press release, which said it had established dedicated teams to assist patients with applications and would increase manpower to shorten processing times. From January to March, cash-strapped patients may be granted conditional waivers if they require immediate treatment but cannot provide complete documentation for financial assessment. They must then submit the relevant documents within three months.

Low-income Hongkongers stuck in endless red tape of medical fee waiver process

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Many struggle to provide long list of required financial records, prompting concern groups to call for more streamlined process

Many struggle to provide long list of required financial records, prompting concern groups to call for more streamlined process