Residents in elderly care homes in Hong Kong overcharged under voucher scheme
Audit Commission finds that in one instance, care home charged elderly resident HK$2,086 a month for nasal feeding products, instead of HK$1,900 shown on price list
Residents in elderly care homes in Hong Kong are being overcharged by as much as HK$22,000 (US$2,826) per person under a voucher scheme that was designed to support them while they wait for a space at a government-subsidised place to open up.
The Audit Commission examined the records of 30 voucher holders from April 2023 to April this year and found six of them were charged more for consumable items and incidental charges than was listed under an eight-level copayment principle.
The voucher value is HK$16,500 a month for care home places, and HK$21,000 a month for nursing home places.
Depending on their financial condition, elderly residents will be charged between zero and 75 per cent of the total cost.
According to the service agreements, care homes can charge voucher holders on a reimbursement basis for consumable items and incidental charges not in the standard package under certain circumstances, based on a price list submitted to the government.
There were 203 service providers as of March and 4,200 voucher holders as of June, with more than HK$2.4 billion in subsidies given since 2017.