Hong Kong set to add hospital charges but also widen safety net for neediest

Patients with non-urgent medical needs could soon be paying separate charges for lab tests, scans and other specific services at public hospitals as part of “significant” reforms to Hong Kong’s healthcare subsidy model, the Post has learned.

A source said on Thursday the fee shake-up, to be announced in the coming weeks, would also entail widening the healthcare safety net to better support the neediest patients who were paying tens or sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat cancer and rare diseases.