Thank you, Deputy President. Today, we debate the healthcare reform proposal announced by the Government earlier, which is in short referred to as the “healthcare financing proposal”. Our debate revolves around three main points: first, the fees and charges reform for public healthcare announced on 25 March; second, the legislative proposals for enhancing private healthcare price transparency on which the Legislative Council Panel on Health Services was briefed on 9 May; and third, the health insurance claims system. My following speech will also revolve around these three points, although five minutes is not enough for me to express all my opinions. 

Regarding the first point, the Liberal Party conducted a questionnaire survey earlier, and received a total of 1 681 valid replies. The findings show that although over 50% (51.4%) of respondents agree that abuses of accident and emergency (“A&E”) services do exist, over 53% (53.2%) disagree with the reform proposal, which includes increasing the charge for A&E services to $400 and increasing the fees for general, specialist and inpatient services. 

Fee increases are never popular, not to mention that the increases under the current proposal are significant for quite a portion of the general public. However, in view of the current serious fiscal deficit of the Government, the long time that has passed since the last upward adjustment to these fees and charges, and the existence of abuses, we find the Government’s attempt to solve multiple problems with one major fee-increase exercise understandable and worth supporting. Moreover, the said proposal is not the end, as the Government will introduce a cap on annual spending of $10,000 for public healthcare services after the implementation of the fees and charges reform for public healthcare. The findings of the Liberal Party’s questionnaire survey show that over 50% of respondents use public healthcare services once in two to three months. Maths show that their spending will still be below the $10,000 ceiling. 

The Liberal Party hopes that members of the public will not be bothered by excessive worries. At the same time, we also call on the Administration to improve the medical fee waiving mechanism and expand the safety net provided by the Samaritan Fund, so as to make sure on an ongoing basis that no one will be denied access to suitable healthcare services because of financial difficulties. The Government is also advised to streamline the relevant application procedures to enhance the protection for the public and prevent people from being impoverished by a serious illness. Furthermore, public hospitals can extend the service hours of evening consultation services to allow those who need the services to have more flexibility as to when to use them. 

Secondly, after the increases in fees and charges for public healthcare services, the difference between public and private charges will become smaller, relatively speaking. In fact, many private hospitals charge only a few hundred dollars for general outpatient services. For medication, the fees will depend on the drugs prescribed. It is also understood that the medication given at private hospitals is more expensive because of the higher quality. 

Speaking of private hospitals, the Liberal Party takes the view that reform should be focused on enhancing private healthcare price transparency, especially what is called the “ward round fees”. I have brought up this issue on a number of occasions in the Council. The experience of a friend of mine can be used to illustrate the seriousness of the problem and the urgent need of reform. 

My friend saw different specialists making “ward rounds” twice a day in the hospital. During such visits, the doctors did not do anything, or at least were not seen to have done anything, except for a brief glance at the patient, but they charged “ward round fees” for that. Bothered by the unfairness, I made a request for a stop. Although my request did stop the fees from going up further, the ward round fees on my friend’s final bill were still an unbelievable $300,000. The need of regulation in this aspect cannot be clearer.

Lastly, regarding the health insurance claims system, the Liberal Party takes the general position that the public should be encouraged to take out private insurance on a voluntary basis. We also advise the Government to provide relevant subsidies in order to enhance the comprehensiveness of healthcare protection. In addition, the Liberal Party supports the option of personal healthcare reserve. 

Deputy President, we are in favour of Dr David LAM’s original motion, but have a point to make regarding Mr TANG Ka-piu’s amendment. We will therefore claim a division later, because we take the view that even with the provision of fee schedules and implementation of packaged charging, the approach should not apply to all circumstances. 

I so submit.