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Could Hong Kong add preventive checks to its voluntary health insurance system?

Acting health minister Libby Lee says authorities will talk to insurance industry to study inclusion of some screenings

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The scheme was introduced in 2019 to establish standards and improve market transparency for individual indemnity hospital insurance products. Photo: Getty Images

Hong Kong authorities will review the city’s Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme this year and consider expanding it to cover some preventive screenings, the acting health minister has said.

Acting Secretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun was referring to a policy introduced by authorities in 2019 to establish standards and improve market transparency for individual indemnity hospital insurance products.

Through the scheme, authorities hope to enhance the level of protection of hospital insurance products and provide the public with an additional choice of using private healthcare services through such insurance.

It is also among measures aimed at relieving the pressure on the public healthcare system in the long run.

At a Legislative Council meeting on Friday, lawmaker Rebecca Chan Hoi-yan stressed the importance of early diagnosis of cancer among the population, urging the government to do more to encourage residents, including young people, to undergo screenings.

A major incentive of the voluntary scheme was that it allowed policyholders to claim tax deductions of up to HK$8,000 (US$1,000) per year of assessment for their premiums, she noted.

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