THE Hospital Authority has shied away from making wealthy patients pay for treatment in its bid to cope with ballooning costs, deputy director (finance) Andy Lee Shiu-chuen said yesterday.
Medical legislator Dr Leong Che-hung and the Health and Medical Development Advisory Committee had both urged the Government to start charging wealthy patients who use public health care.
The committee warned this week that government expenditure on health care had hit 14 per cent this year, from just eight per cent during the 1980s.
Mr Lee said the authority had outlined about 200 ways to curb costs and boost efficiency without overstepping its $17.4 billion 1995-96 budget, but had no plans for means-testing.
Income from hospital fees and charges covered only four per cent of authority's running costs, he said.
Legislator Dr Leong warned the Government's reluctance to bill wealthy users of public health care was pushing hospitals to the brink of financial suicide.
'If this is going to carry on, the Hospital Authority is going to move back to its former days of queues,' Dr Leong said.
