Will private Hong Kong hospitals set high fee estimates to avoid explaining bill?
Hong Kong's private hospitals may provide higher fee estimates to avoid having to explain cost blowouts in patients' final bills under an
official proposal aimed at improving price transparency, lawmakers have warned.
Advertisement
But Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau on Friday dismissed the concerns and said private operators would not want to scare away patients by setting very high price expectations.
He also vowed to ensure penalties would act as effective deterrents under the legislative
proposals targeting the private healthcare sector.
The Health Bureau earlier this week put a range of measures to the Legislative Council for discussion, including a requirement for private hospitals to give price estimates and a written explanation to patients or their family members if the final bill for procedures was significantly higher, such as 20 per cent or more than the expected amount.
But lawmakers raised doubts about how the government would ensure the rights of patients were protected.
Advertisement
'Private hospitals might include potential stays in the intensive care unit in the fee estimates for operations that are a bit more complicated,' legislator Rebecca Chan Hoi-yan said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Alarm over Hong Kong student suicides, but minister rejects calls for counsellors
Hong Kong's education minister has dismissed suggestions to introduce counsellors at schools to address students' mental health concerns, arguing that the issue should be tackled through concerted efforts across campus, rather than relying on a single individual. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin told lawmakers on Friday that primary and secondary schools in the city had reported 11 suspected student suicide cases between January and April this year. This follows 28 such cases in the whole of 2024. Most lawmakers at the Legislative Council's education panel meeting described the student suicide situation as serious. Choi attributed poor mental health among young people to the impact of the online world. 'The current online world affects the health of teenagers in many ways, including insomnia and character development. Playing video games, echoing or attacking each other on social media has a very bad impact on the mental health of teenagers,' she said. 'Spending too much time [online] also affects brain development.' Choi suggested a 'whole-school approach' to address the problem, with personnel collaborating with various professionals to provide students with comprehensive support and services.
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
New women's health summit in Hong Kong highlights femtech
It's not news that around the world, women are disproportionately hampered by regressive state policies and lack of funding, with either or both restricting their rights to medical access, but there's also an increasing number of women-led start-ups and companies seeking to challenge the status quo. To address the issues, Hong Kong will host the inaugural Women's Health in Focus: A Global Summit, on June 16 and 17. As Hong Kong's first large-scale symposium dedicated to women's health, the event will bring together 40 international leaders across healthcare, technology, investment and entrepreneurship at the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre to share their experiences and kick-start discussion on topics from women's longevity, brain and heart health, disease prevention and workplace wellness. The growing field of femtech , or women's health technology, is a focus of the summit, with some of the biggest movers showcasing global best practices in maternal health patient support, menstrual products , gynaecological devices and solutions in fertility. Maaike Steinebach wants to elevate women's health as a strategic priority in boardrooms and policy agendas across Asia. Photo: Handout 'For too long, women's health has been marginalised in clinical trials, tech development and healthcare design,' says Anca Griffiths, summit co-founder and CEO of Hong Kong-based edu-tech company OM Health Hub Maaike Steinebach , femtech consultant and fellow summit co-founder also based in Hong Kong, wants to elevate women's health as a strategic priority in boardrooms and policy agendas across Asia. Building momentum for investment in women's health 'as a cornerstone of economic resilience and innovation', she says, 'means more funding for research, more tailored health employee benefits for women in the workplace, and a clearer understanding that equitable healthcare isn't just a moral imperative, it's a growth driver'. Speakers include Dr Christopher Asandra, a renowned longevity expert who will share the tools and protocols he uses to treat Hollywood's elite; Dr Lisa Larkin, a women's health expert who will present a road map for disease prevention; and Dr Cassandra Szoeke, a leading brain-health researcher and author of Secrets of Women's Healthy Aging (2021). The summit will also host the global launch of the Women's Longevity Blueprint, a pioneering initiative designed to deliver targeted tools and strategies to help women prevent disease and extend their lifespan. 'Women's health is not only a personal issue; it's an economic one,' says Steinebach. 'For every dollar we invest in women's health, we get three dollars' worth of GDP. When we overlook women's specific health needs, we lose out on productivity, innovation and inclusive progress.'
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Banned but harmless substance found in 2 Hong Kong housing estate freshwater pipes
Black particles found in the freshwater supply at two public housing estates are mainly bitumen, authorities have said, stressing that the water is safe to drink. Director of Water Supplies Roger Wong Yan-lok sought to reassure the public on Thursday after government tests revealed the presence of the substance – which is banned from use in pipes – in most of the 126 samples collected from blocks in Queens Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court, both in Fanling. 'Bitumen is insoluble in water and is not harmful to humans,' he said. Wong added that experts commissioned by the Water Supplies Department five years ago did not find any toxic substances in three litres of hot water boiled with 10 grams of bitumen. 'Even if residents drink water containing bitumen, there is no need to worry,' he said. Hong Kong's Global 6K for Water run highlights need for clean water Residents at the two public rental and subsidised estates first reported the presence of black particles in their drinking water last Friday, prompting some to buy bottled water as speculation grew over the source of the mysterious dark specks. Wong said the amount of bitumen – a black, sticky substance obtained from crude oil – found in the current samples was three-thousandths of the quantity per litre used in the department's past experiment. The latest tests showed the bitumen was found to be mixed with resin, a thick substance typically produced by plants. Wong said the pipes supplying freshwater to the two estates, completed between 2021 and 2022, were not lined with bitumen. The substance has not been used as an inner coating material in pipes laid after 2005. Residents of two Hong Kong public estates have started buying bottled water after finding black particles in their freshwater supply. Photo: Dickson Lee He said authorities believed that the bitumen could be left over from 2022 when the government received reports of a large amount of sediment flowing into the pipes of Queens Hill Estate. The sediment could have stayed in the pipes when Queens Hill Estate was used as a quarantine facility the same year. Wong said authorities had cleaned the pipes and installed equipment that could filter out substances larger than 0.1mm in December 2022. He noted that some sediment remained in the plumbing system, with the pieces becoming smaller and able to move over time. Wong also said the resin might be coming off the coating of valves in the plumbing. The government will step up efforts to clean the residue in pipes and test the water quality daily until the problem is solved, Wong added. Listen Up: Scientists uncover germs hidden in reusable water bottles that need cleaning Authorities will also replace materials in valves when necessary, while additional filters will be installed at every block of Shan Lai Court. The department later said it would upload its water test results daily on its website, adding that records showed the upper stream of the supply system in the area had a section that used bitumen as the inner coating material. Despite repeated assurances over the safety of the water supply, residents have continued to voice their worries, with a mother at one of the estates finding that black particles stuck to the surface of bottles when she tried to prepare baby milk formula. Asked whether he would apologise to the public, Wong said he could present his reassurances 'in another way' in the future to address public concern. A resident wraps a tap with tissue to filter out black particles. Photo: Nora Tam Wong King, executive president of the International Institute of Utility Specialists, said the bitumen could have come from old pipes outside the Queen's Hill neighbourhood. He added that bitumen could have also fallen into the pipes accidentally when the estates were being built. He said he believed that the incident was an isolated case, adding that it would be sufficient for authorities to clean the plumbing system rather than reinstall the pipes, as the latter would be inconvenient for residents. Drinking Water Safety Advisory Committee chairman Chan Hon-fai said it was possible that the substance came from old public pipes and had remained in the upper stream of those in Queen's Hill. He said that sediment could not be washed away initially, as the water velocity was low, with very few residents moving into Queens Hill Estate a few years ago. As more residents moved in, the water velocity would increase and push sediment out through taps in flats, Chan added. He suggested that authorities use technology as they continue to clean the pipes: 'I believe they can deploy small robots to check whether there is sediment remaining in the pipes.' Chan stressed that the water was safe but advised residents against consuming the particles.
