Charge for cross-border couples could fall to HK$20,000 The Hospital Authority is considering a reduced HK$20,000 maternity package for pregnant mainland women married to local men, following a plea from legislators. But the move might not be enough to satisfy the women, who hit out at the government's lack of compassion and its discriminatory policy. From September 2005 to January this year, non-local pregnant women had to pay HK$20,000 to have their babies in the city's public hospitals. But from February 1, the non-refundable charge was raised to HK$39,000 - which provided a confirmed booking certificate, antenatal checks, delivery and three days in hospital. Mainland women who arrive without bookings are charged HK$48,000. At the Legislative Council health services panel yesterday, the Civic Party's Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung said the 'punitive level' of fee had 'thrown a spanner in the works' of cross-boundary couples' family planning. 'You have a broad-brush approach. It does not differentiate according to families,' he said. Health, Welfare and Food Bureau Deputy Secretary Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said that in a review of the policy, 'we will see if there will be other categories to be made as to the fee structure'. The legislators unanimously passed a motion yesterday calling for mainland women married to locals to be exempt from the new fee and be charged HK$20,000 instead. The panel heard that 35 per cent of marriages are now between cross-border couples, with the new policy having a 'profound impact' on families. Unionist legislator Lee Cheuk-yan said: 'This new policy has destroyed families and led to abortions.' But Liberal Party legislator Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee said the government should not overturn a policy after only two months. 'I do not find it acceptable that this new policy caused the wives to undergo abortions. It should not be suggested that because of this new policy there is no place for them to give birth.' The authority's director of cluster services, Allen Cheung Wai-lun, said that in the first nine weeks of the new policy until April 4, 1,190 births by mainland women were reported, a daily average of 18.9 compared to 29.5 in February-March last year. More than 99 per cent of booked cases paid the full fee, compared to a 59.7 per cent payment rate of emergency cases during the same period, he said. 'A grace period may not be appropriate because we provide treatment. Medical fees and charges are not susceptible to a grace period.' Local man Terry Pang Wai-choi, whose mainland wife is about to give birth, said: 'We should only pay HK$100 a day as other local residents. Even reducing the fee back to HK$20,000 is not enough.' Mr Pang, a driver, said he had booked the delivery service with his credit card but had not settled the bill. He now drives six more hours a day to cover his family's increasing costs. Kenny Wong Chi-kwong, whose mainland wife is seven months pregnant, said there was no reason he should pay a 'penalty' and urged the Hospital Authority to cut the fee back to at least HK$20,000. 'When my wife and I decided to have a baby, we just expected to pay HK$20,000 [for giving birth in Hong Kong],' he said. 'It is unreasonable that the authority abruptly raised the fee to HK$39,000. We have done family planning. It is the government's policies that are not well-planned.' Dramatic decline The number of non-eligible women admitted for emergency births per day in the first three months of last year 24.3 The number admitted per day in the first nine weeks of this year 5.9
