New Hong Kong private hospital CUHK Medical Centre out to lure public patients with price guarantees, as officials seek to ease strain on government facilities
Head of Sha Tin hospital set to open in 2020 says bosses developing package prices for range of medical services to attract middle-class patients
Hong Kong’s 13th private hospital, set to open in 2020, will be the only one to guarantee up front the price of all medical procedures in standard beds, in an effort to lure cost-conscious middle-class patients away from the overstretched public health care system.
CUHK Medical Centre in Sha Tin will price all of its services as packages so patients know before admission the entire cost of a procedure, to avoid being hit with unexpected bills on discharge.
The 606-bed hospital, wholly owned by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is in talks with major insurers to develop coverage plans based on the move, according to chief executive Dr Fung Hong.
The government has already stipulated that the hospital and Gleneagles Hong Kong in Wong Chuk Hang price a certain percentage of their services in packages – the only two facilities to face such rules.
But Fung said: “Our aim [is] to offer package prices for all procedures done for our patients in standard beds”, as long as the patients are Hong Kong residents.
