Press Releases

Public hospitals and clinics to implement online checking system to verify "eligible persons"

Starting from September 28 (Saturday), people attending hospitals and clinics under the Hospital Authority (HA) and the Department of Health (DH) will be required to present their Hong Kong identity card (HKIC) for verification of their Hong Kong resident status through a new online checking system before they can receive highly subsidised public healthcare services by paying fees for "eligible persons" (EPs).

A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said today (September 23) that it has been the Government's policy to provide public healthcare services to local residents at highly subsidised rates. All HKIC holders are considered as EPs to receive subsidised public healthcare services.

"However, after the introduction of the Hong Kong permanent resident status, some overstayers and former non-permanent Hong Kong residents (e.g. those who previously worked or studied in Hong Kong), returning to Hong Kong as visitors, still use their "un-returned" non-permanent HKIC to access our healthcare services at subsidised rates.

"These people are actually non-eligible persons (NEPs), but they still receive subsidised public healthcare services as EPs, resulting in revenue loss to the Government," the spokesman said.

To rectify this situation, the Government obtained funding from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in 2011 to implement the "Online Checking of the Eligibility of Non-permanent Hong Kong Identity Card Holders for Subsidised Public Healthcare Services".

Through the online checking system, staff of the HA and the DH will be able to confirm whether the non-permanent HKIC holder has valid resident status on the day of seeking healthcare services. Depending on the results, staff of the HA and the DH will charge the patient at EP or NEP rate as appropriate.

"With the implementation of the new online checking system, we need to technically refine the definition of EPs to align with the existing policy intention of providing subsidised public healthcare services to Hong Kong residents. The new definition will be gazetted on September 27 and will take effect on the following day," the spokesman said.

Under the refined definition, patients who fall into the following categories are eligible for the rates of charges applicable to EPs to enjoy the highly subsidised public healthcare services:

(a) holders of an HKIC issued under the Registration of Persons Ordinance (Chapter 177), except those who obtained their HKIC by virtue of a previous permission to land or remain in Hong Kong granted to them and for whom such permission has expired or ceased to be valid;

(b) children who are Hong Kong residents and under 11 years of age; or

(c) other persons approved by the Chief Executive of the HA or by the Director of Health (in the case of the DH).

Ends/Monday, September 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:02

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