Most family doctor co-payments unchanged in Hong Kong primary care scheme
Hong Kong's Medical and Health Bureau announced that from 1 November, over 80 per cent of family doctor co-payments in the Primary Care Co-governance Network will remain unchanged. Of 1,239 service points, 82.5 per cent hold fees steady, while adjustments average a 3.7 per cent rise in treatment-sta
The Medical and Health Bureau of Hong Kong has announced that annual adjustments to co-payments for screening and treatment consultations under the Primary Care Co-governance Network will take effect from 1 November. A list of the updated co-payments has been published on the dedicated website, and the family doctor search tool on the site will also be updated on the same day.
A spokesperson said that after the adjustment, more than 60 per cent of service points will still charge the government-recommended HK$150 or less for treatment-stage consultations. The median co-payment remains at HK$150. Of the 1,239 participating service points, 1,022 or 82.5 per cent will keep their co-payments unchanged. Twenty-eight service points will reduce fees, with a median reduction of HK$100. The remaining 189 service points will increase fees, and of those, nearly 90 per cent will raise them by HK$50 or less.
Overall, the average increase in treatment-stage consultation co-payments for the coming year is 3.7 per cent. For screening-stage consultations, over 97 per cent of service points will charge the government-recommended co-payment. Additionally, 28 service points will charge below the recommended fee for cardiovascular disease risk factor screening, and 20 will do so for chronic hepatitis B screening.
As of 7 October, more than 300,000 residents had joined the co-governance network. Among participants who have completed screening for cardiovascular disease risk factors and/or chronic hepatitis B, approximately 70,000 were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease risk factors.
