Hospital bill scheme aims to curb dubious practices in Hong Kong’s private health care sector
Voluntary scheme will provide uniform bill estimates for 24 common surgical procedures and launch on Saturday
The voluntary pilot scheme was announced by the health minister yesterday to increase transparency in medical charges, but patients’ rights activists remained doubtful, concerned that it was not legally binding and there were no penalties for non-compliance.
They were also doubtful about relying solely on the goodwill of private doctors to ensure patients would be well informed about hospital fees.
“Even it is not legally binding, it will benefit the patients as they will be able to know the price range to make informed choices and financial preparation.”
The hospitals would not be able to give patients a fixed final price before surgery because of too many variables, he added.
The government hopes the trial scheme will pave the way for legislation aimed at curbing dubious practices in the private health care sector, such as overcharging, lack of quality control, and a reluctance to handle public complaints or deal with medical blunders.