Hong Kong's public health-care system is one the best and most generous in Asia. For a paltry $60 - $100 for an emergency room visit - Hong Kong residents have access to all the trappings of a true centre of medical excellence. Nonetheless, the average white-collar expatriate is likely to prefer the comfort and convenience offered by private health care.
Unfortunately, despite the huge number of health plans on offer, it's a seller's market, and consumers can usually expect a terrible deal.
Most individual schemes available are expensive, laced with explicit and hidden exclusions and offer inadequate protection for serious or complicated illnesses.
Policyholders are typically cut off at age 65. Most policies impose strict pay-out limits that would be quickly exceeded by surgeries and extended treatments for heart disease or cancer.
Private maternity coverage in Hong Kong is virtually non-existent. If coverage is offered at all, benefits are limited to $25,000 or less - a bit less than two years' premiums -- and provide no protection for the newborn child. Most plans exclude all conditions related to pregnancy.
It is also worth considering that Hong Kong's insurance sector is 'self-regulated'. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner only ensures that local insurance companies are solvent.
