Opinion | To struggling Hongkongers, rise in healthcare fees just adds to hardship

The government sees the increases as an unavoidable course correction but, for many Hongkongers, it feels like yet another financial squeeze

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Hong Kong Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau (centre) speaks about the changes to public hospital fees and charges, at the government headquarters in Tamar, on March 25. Photo: May Tse

Published: 9:30am, 2 Apr 2025Updated: 10:16am, 2 Apr 2025

Few things worry ordinary citizens as much as a surge in healthcare costs. On March 25, the Hong Kong government announced a sweeping overhaul of public healthcare fees, with increases that cannot be ignored.

The price of a visit to the accident and emergency department will more than double to HK$400 (US$51.45) from HK$180, specialist outpatient fees will jump to HK$250 from HK$80 and hospital inpatient charges will go up to HK$300 a day from HK$120. For a city already grappling with rising living costs, the move has sent shock waves through society.

Government officials, including Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau, argue that the adjustments are long overdue. The last revision was in 2017, despite a mechanism that recommends a review every two years. The financial burden of public healthcare has been mounting, with the government subsidising an astonishing 97.6 per cent of costs.

Even after the price adjustment, subsidies will remain at 94 per cent, with a target of reducing them further, to 90 per cent within five years. In other words, this is only the beginning of a broader shift towards more cost-sharing.

The numbers tell a sobering story. Hong Kong’s public healthcare spending has increased significantly over the past decade, from HK$70 billion in the 2015-16 financial year to a projected HK$141 billion for the current financial year. It now accounts for a substantial portion of the government budget, second only to social welfare.

Meanwhile, fiscal reserves have declined from a high of over HK$1.1 trillion in 2018-19 to a forecast HK$647.4 billion for 2024-25, squeezed by rising expenditure and declining tax revenue. With Hong Kong’s ageing population and declining birth rate, healthcare costs are expected to continue climbing.