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Theme 3. Improving existing health financing mechanisms

Subtheme 3.1 – The way our health system is financed needs to be better organised
to alleviate burden on the public sector and maximise health system performance.
Multiple stakeholders felt that by positioning HA as a safety net for Hong Kong citizens, the
low-cost and high-quality services offered in the public sector effectively disincentivises
use of private healthcare. Intensifying the problem is the public’s fear of missing
out–the public is likely to seek public hospital-based service even for minor problems that
could be solved in ambulatory (outpatient) settings, which creates a bigger burden on the
public hospital system.

Stakeholders’ voices

In the public sector, you can see now with the deflecting of
money, the financing is a problem, so the quality of care and
efficiency are running down.
Policymaker

Just imagine if there is a place in the world that this
health service is cheap, fast, and of good quality. It
will only end up in [misuse]. Every person will go there
for the most minor problems.
Private service provider

I remember that the Hospital Authority was spending 15% of the
Government’s total expenditure more than a decade ago. That
figure has now risen to about 18%, meaning that this current model
does not work [because the problems remain despite more
resources allocated to the health system].
Professional body representative

The public system now serves as a safety net. Its usage will keep
rising because of its cheap price and high quality. Only the rich
and those with good insurance coverage will use the services
provided by private hospitals.
Professional body representative

But then, everybody looks at it as a resource, governmental
resource–I want a bit of the resource.
Academic

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