Provide lifelong health cover for your newborns, Hong Kong government tells young parents as it prepares to launch Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme

The government is hoping to appeal to young parents in Hong Kong with a new voluntary medical insurance scheme under which newborns as young as 15 days old can get health coverage until they are 100 years old, the Post has learned.

The premium for the baby insurance package, accredited by the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS), was expected to cost about HK$2,000 a year and would cover all diseases with the exception of congenital illnesses, a government source said.

Rolling out the scheme on April 1, the government hopes up to 1.5 million Hongkongers – especially those from the middle-class – will buy private health care insurance in the next three years, steering them away from the overloaded public health service.

A consultancy released on Friday by the Food and Health Bureau estimated the ratio of inpatients at public hospitals could be reduced by 5 per cent by 2040 if the scheme reached these targets.

The private sector would see a 35 per cent rise in demand after the scheme, the report added.

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“Although there may not be an immediate solution to the staffing shortage problem in the public sector, we hope the VHIS can help take part of the burden away in the long run,” the source said.

“The government hopes the insurance products can target two groups of people – young adults and young parents.”

A series of promotional events would be rolled out in March, the source added.

Insurance sector lawmaker Chan Kin-por said such packages were a step in the right direction.

“It’s a good idea to allow those who are more financially capable to buy insurance for their children for life,” Chan said. “It can take pressure off public hospitals and is in line with the government’s policy to free up public resources for those who really need it.”

Currently, most couples who buy insurance packages for themselves would get an additional plan to cover their newborn, but those without cover would be unlikely to buy a plan just for their baby, Chan said.

The plans can range from a few thousand dollars – covering only hospital visits – to more than HK$10,000, which include vaccination packages or outpatient treatment.

Congenital disorders that appear before the child turned 16 years old would not be covered, Chan said, though some companies would lower the age range to eight or 10 years old to attract more clients.

Hong Kong’s health system is tilted heavily towards the public sector, which employs about 40 per cent of the city’s doctors but cares for up to 90 per cent of the inpatients’ bed days.

The government hoped to boost the appeal of private health insurance by enhancing products’ quality in the market.

Under the VHIS scheme, insurance packages must meet minimal requirements, such as covering unknown pre-existing conditions and guaranteeing renewal up to the age of 100, to get official accreditation.

The government also announced a tax break with a ceiling of HK$8,000 (US$1,020) per person to attract buyers.

The health bureau’s report said a standard plan under the scheme was expected to be HK$4,833 per year on average across all ages and genders, based on the 2017 basis.

The report, after reviewing data from the sector, expected the total uptake of the scheme would reach 3.1 million in 2048. However, due to uncertainty in the short-run, the uptake was conservatively estimated to be at around 1 million in 2020 and around 1.5 million in 2021.

In 2017, about 82 per cent of all hospital patients in the city used public health care services. Without the scheme, this figure is expected to rise to 86 per cent by 2040.

The report estimated that with the scheme in place, this figure would fall by about 5 percentage points.

The change would mean a massive easing of burden on public hospitals, involving a “substantial amount of activities in terms of scale” transferred to the private sector.

Additional reporting by Naomi Ng