Hong Kong: Details of long awaited govt-backed voluntary health insurance plan announced
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Apr 2019
The Hong Kong government has announced details of the long-awaited Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS), including the scope of protection offered by individual indemnity hospital insurance products, and the code of practice which insurance companies participating in the VHIS must comply with.
Eleven insurers have received approval to offer coverage under the scheme which aims to create affordable private medical coverage in the city to relieve pressure on the overloaded public medical system. The insurers include AXA, AIA, Manulife and Prudential.
The VHIS gives participants tax breaks amounting to HK$8,000 ($1,020) each year for each family member enrolled in the scheme. Ninety per cent of the costs of healthcare incurred will be covered by taxpayers, reducing the actual costs incurred by the individual at private hospitals.
The government expects about 1.5m people to enrol in the VHIS plan over the next three years with 1.1m of them moving over from their current private plans and another 400,000 buying private plans for the first time. A