Hong Kong government confident of passing bill to end abuses in private health sector
Hospitals will face tougher regulations in a number of areas, including fee transparency, and much stiffer fines for breaching regulations
Leung Chun-ying’s administration is confident of passing long-awaited laws to end dubious practices of private health firms before the end of its term in 2017, the Post has learnt.
The legislation will cover areas such as, standards of facilities, clinical quality and price transparency. It will also impose much steeper fines for violations.
Private hospitals will have to set out all fees and inform patients of estimated total charges for non-emergency operations before the procedures. The aim is to restore public confidence in a private sector criticised for overcharging, lack of quality control, and a reluctance to handle complaints and medical blunders.
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It is the one major reform in the sector most likely to be passed within Leung’s remaining term and is expected to go before lawmakers after the Legislative Council elections this year, according to a government source.
“We do not expect much resistance from lawmakers as the issue is not controversial,” said the source from the Food and Health Bureau, who predicted a smooth passage of the bill through Legco.
“The regulations for private hospitals and clinics have long been criticised as too lax and outdated. It is time to strengthen the government’s role in supervising the quality of these services.”
The government expected the move to pave the way for another revamp of the medical insurance scheme, encouraging people to use private health services to ease the burden on the public sector.
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