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Respondents’ preferred sector for chronic disease management upon
participation in the Scheme (private or public service provider) is associated with income,
insurance coverage, and financial preparedness to afford unanticipated medical
expenses. Analyses show that respondents’ prior sector preferences were significantly
associated with financial preparedness for unexpected medical expenses, for both chronic
disease management (p<0.001) and episodic illness consultation (p<0.001) (Questions 10a,
18; 14, 18) (Appendix E, I). In particular, respondents who answered that they were
“insufficient” or “severely insufficient” in being able to afford unanticipated
medical expenses were more likely to use the public sector for screening and
management (Questions 10a, 18; 14, 18) (Appendix E, I). Additionally, individuals without
any form of insurance were more likely to have chosen public services in
the event of a chronic condition diagnosis or for episodic illness consultations (p<0.001)
(Questions 14, 17) (Appendix H). These findings highlight the necessity of pricing private
sector services against an individual’s economic accessibility and affordability in order to
influence actual service utilisation patterns.

Regarding the WTP, our survey results reveal that the maximum amount most
respondents (56.2%) were willing to pay for management of their chronic
conditions ranges from HKD 51 to HKD 200 per consultation. Approximately
one-third (31.5%) of all respondents were willing to pay a higher price range of HKD 101 to
HKD 200 per consultation (Question 11b) (Table 4.6). The FHB recommends four to ten
consultations every year for individuals with stable conditions of HDH (FHB, 2020). Therefore,
depending on the number of consultations per year, our survey respondents are willing to
pay up to from HKD 204 for four consultations to HKD 2,000 for ten consultations annually
for managing their chronic conditions, which encompasses and surpasses the benchmark
price for GOPC appointments of HKD 200 to HKD 500 annually.

Table 4.6

Maximum willingness-to-pay amount for chronic disease management
per consultation
Maximum amount (HKD) n (%)
1–50 115 (17.8)
51–100 160 (24.7)
101–200 204 (31.5)
201–500 122 (18.9)
501 or above 34 (5.3)
Uncertain / No opinions 12 (1.9)

We found that monthly household income was associated with an individual’s WTP level
(p<0.05 for all tests), suggesting that being low-income is more likely to be
associated with lower WTP ranges for chronic disease management
(Questions 11b, INCOME) (Appendix G). This suggests that in the design of the Scheme,
income as well as other financial capacity indicators associated with income, such as
medical insurance coverage and financial preparedness against unanticipated medical
expenses, should be considered (Table 4.6).

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