Coronavirus: calls mount for Hong Kong private hospitals to cut Covid-19 test charges to help city’s anti-epidemic fight
- Businesswoman and local NPC deputy Pauline Ngan accuses private hospitals of ‘taking advantage of the pandemic to rob people’s money’
- Patients’ rights advocate Tim Pang also urges government to consider handing out allowances for residents to get tested at private hospitals
The calls came as a local deputy to the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, accused private hospitals of “taking advantage of the pandemic to rob people’s money”, after she was asked to pay what she considered a hefty fee of more than HK$2,000 for a Covid-19 test.
Tim Pang Hung-cheong, spokesman for the Patients’ Rights Association, also urged authorities to consider giving out allowances for residents to get tested at private hospitals if needed.
“I can understand that running a private hospital is kind of a business. Maybe the government can subsidise the general public for some service there or the private hospitals can forgo some fees as a way of assuming social responsibility during this difficult time,” he said.
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Currently, the government offers various ways for people who have no symptoms or who are not subject to compulsory testing to get screened for their own sake.