Greater healthcare demand drives 55% hike in Hong Kong employee medical premiums
Hong Kong employers are facing significantly higher costs for their employees' medical insurance, with premiums having increased by 55 per cent over the past three years due to a greater demand for healthcare services, including those related to post-Covid illnesses.
The findings were announced on Friday by the College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). They form part of Hong Kong's first 'Staff Medical Insurance Index', a collaborative effort with MPF consultant GUM.
The Index, which covers 19 years of market data from 2006 to 2024, aims to provide a comprehensive illustration of the actual use, expense, and premium trends of group medical insurance in Hong Kong. It comprises the Utilisation Index, the Expense Index, and the Premium Index.
This year's analysis showed that the Composite Premium Index under the insurance index had cumulatively surged by 55 per cent, rising from 182 in 2021 to 282 in 2024.
Professor Peter Yuen Pok-man, Dean of PolyU CPCE and a health economics expert, said that 'the rise in medical premiums [was] mainly driven by high utilisation rates'.
'Insurers set future premium rates based on past claim experiences,' said Yuen. 'Group medical insurance is facing a dilemma where high utilisation leads to premium increases, which, in the long run, could undermine the sustainability of private healthcare and indirectly intensify the pressure on the public healthcare system.'
Dr Gloria Siu, chief executive of GUM, pointed out that 'a surge in upper respiratory infections has driven up the utilisation of general outpatient services.'
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