2020 Policy Address - about Medical Policy

Today, Chief Executive Carrie Lam issued "2020 Policy Address" [1] in the Legislative Council. I will summarize the medical policy for your reference:

IV. Navigating through the Epidemic

Staying Vigilant in the Prolonged Fight against the Epidemic

30. The year 2020 has presented mankind with an unprecedented public health crisis. With the exception of China, the epidemic situation across the globe shows no sign of abating and is even worsening rapidly in some places. Governments around the world have to implement extremely stringent border control and social distancing measures. During almost one year of our fight against the epidemic, Hong Kong has remained vigilant and committed. Mobilising the whole community to fight the virus together, the Government has been maintaining a high degree of transparency in its anti-epidemic efforts and seeking the co-operation and support of the entire community.

  

Together, We Fight the Virus

31. During the multiple waves of the epidemic, the Hong Kong community has shown its unity and the spirit of mutual help in working towards a common goal. We have seen a large number of medical staff, serving and retired civil servants as well as members of the auxiliary services making concerted efforts to perform arduous tasks such as medical surveillance, contact tracing, virus testing, quarantine and treatment; government project teams as well as contractors and workers labouring day and night to set up more quarantine centres and community treatment facilities within the shortest time; professional teams travelling to and from the Mainland and overseas fearlessly to take Hong Kong people home; community organisations and volunteers distributing protective equipment to support the underprivileged; and technology personnel zealously exploring the application of research and development (R&D) outcomes in related prevention and control work. The HKSAR Government would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to each and every one who has joined the fight against the epidemic.

   

Support of the Central Government

32. The Central Government is very concerned about the development of the epidemic in Hong Kong and has responded positively to requests from the HKSAR Government, including supplying personal protective equipment, exporting mask production machines, assisting Hong Kong residents stranded in the Mainland and overseas in returning home, and supporting three major projects to help Hong Kong suppress the third wave of the epidemic and enhance our capability in treating patients in the future. With the full support of the Central Government, the Universal Community Testing Programme, which provided voluntary virus testing services for more than 1.7 million people, was concluded smoothly in mid-September. The new community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) has also been commissioned ahead of schedule early last month, while the construction of a temporary hospital is expected to be completed in January next year. To support Hong Kong in ensuring the supply of vaccines, the Central Government has recently agreed to reserve a certain amount of vaccines developed or produced in the Mainland for use by Hong Kong people when necessary. On behalf of the HKSAR, I wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Central Government as well as the provinces and cities which have come to our assistance. As for arrangements to facilitate cross-border travel which the public are concerned about, provided that the epidemic in Hong Kong is under control, the Central Government supports the gradual resumption of travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong without the need for compulsory quarantine in an orderly manner through mutual recognition of health codes.

  

Adopting a Multi-pronged Approach

33. Since the outbreak of the epidemic in January this year, the inter-departmental Steering Committee cum Command Centre led by me has been making timely adjustments to the measures to cope with the ever-changing situation with a view to curbing the epidemic through a multi-pronged approach. In the course of doing so, not only do we have to consider the legal basis of the measures, the level of acceptance from the public and the impact on the economy, but also the practicability of the measures in achieving the desired effect. This is by no means an easy task, but I can assure that every decision we made is based on science, expert advice and the information available to us at the time, and that political considerations have never come into play.

34. As the research and development of vaccines take time, and the epidemic situation remains unstable and may persist for a period of time, we need to be prepared at all times for the next wave. With the concerted efforts of the Government and the sector, the testing capacity of the local private sector has increased from several thousand per day initially to the current level of over 100 000, and the cost of testing has also dropped substantially. The anti-epidemic technologies developed locally have also proved to be highly useful. Furthermore, we have set up more quarantine centres and treatment facilities, subsidised the production of masks and other personal protective equipment locally, as well as rolled out three rounds of AEF measures to support the sectors and members of the public that have been hard hit by the epidemic.

  

Sparing No Effort in Achieving “Zero Infection”

35. However, in view of the unstable development of the epidemic, we should never lower our guard. Recently, there is a resurgence of confirmed cases and clusters of infection without a known source in the community. The epidemic is on the brink of another wave of outbreak. It is essential for us to take all necessary measures to strengthen epidemic control by guarding against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections, and to further enhance the precision of the control measures to be taken. On guarding against the importation of cases, the Government has tightened cross-boundary control measures comprehensively by putting inbound travellers arriving in Hong Kong from countries outside China in compulsory quarantine at hotels for 14 days; and for those coming from high-risk places, they are also required to present proof of a negative virus test result before boarding planes. On breaking the virus transmission chain in the community, we mandate high-risk groups to undergo virus tests, and will provide voluntary virus testing service for people without symptoms on a wider scale, or may even implement a large-scale universal community testing again in a bid to achieve the target of “zero infection” should we have the support and co-operation of the general public, and to resume travelling between the two places at an early date.

  

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

64. Since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan by the Central Government in February 2019, various Central ministries have issued a number of policy documents to support the development of financial, legal and professional services in the GBA, as well as rolled out measures to facilitate Hong Kong and Macao residents to work, live and study in the Mainland cities of the GBA. During my meeting with leaders of the Guangdong Province and Shenzhen municipality earlier this month, we agreed to press ahead with the work in areas such as cross-boundary infrastructure development and clearance facilitation, joint development of an international I&T hub, co-operation in modern service industries, education, nurturing of talents and youth exchanges, as well as joint development of a quality living circle. Specific co-operation projects include:

• supporting Hong Kong’s insurance industry in establishing after-sales service centres in the Mainland cities of the GBA under the framework of the CEPA to provide Hong Kong, Macao and Mainland residents, who are holders of Hong Kong policies, with comprehensive support in different areas including enquiries, claims and renewal of policies;
• implementing as soon as possible the arrangement of using Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals at The University of Hong Kong – Shenzhen Hospital on a trial basis subject to the approval of the Guangdong Province, and extending the policy to cover more designated healthcare institutions, drugs and medical devices in a timely manner;
• allowing traditional proprietary Chinese medicine products for external use registered in Hong Kong to be registered and sold in the GBA through a streamlined approval process;

   

VIII. Continuously Improving People’s Livelihood

Increased Expenditure on Welfare and Healthcare

130. The current-term Government is committed to building a caring community and looking after the underprivileged, as can be seen in the allocation of resources. Recurrent government expenditures on social welfare and healthcare have increased from $65.3 billion and $62.6 billion in 2017-18 to $93.9 billion and $87.1 billion in 2020-21 respectively, with an average annual increase of 12.9% and 11.6%. Apart from the recurrent expenditure, we have also increased the non-recurrent funding for provision of additional facilities, which include an additional funding of $300 billion for the development of public healthcare facilities and healthcare teaching facilities, as well as $20 billion for the purchase of private premises for welfare purposes.

  

Medical and Health
District Health Centres

142. The current-term Government attaches great importance to primary healthcare development. The first District Health Centre (DHC) in Kwai Tsing District came into operation in September last year. Operation service contracts for DHCs of another two districts were awarded, and the sites for nine other DHCs have been confirmed. The Food and Health Bureau will look into implementation of a Pilot Public-Private Partnership Programme for DHCs, under which subsidised medical consultation services will be provided to DHC members who are newly diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension, with a view to enhancing the measures to manage the chronic disease and alleviating the pressure on the public healthcare system.

  

Enhancing the Elderly Dental Assistance Programme

143. The Elderly Dental Assistance Programme under the CCF benefits over 500 000 low-income elderly persons aged 65 or above. We plan to expand the scope of subsidy so that eligible elderly persons in need of treatment can receive more targeted dental services. These include:
allowing the inclusion of more subsidised items, including the removal of bridges or crowns and the provision of root canal treatment; and
allowing elderly persons reaching the age of 75 and who have joined the programme for at least five years to receive free removable dentures and other related dental services for a second time.

  

Mental Health

144. The social unrest last year, together with the persisting COVID-19 epidemic since early this year, have brought different levels of impact and influence on the mental well-being of some people. The Government has decided to provide additional resources of $300 million under the Beat Drugs Fund to better support the needy in the community and raise public awareness of mental health.

  

Drug Subsidies and Support for Patients with Uncommon Disorders

145. The Government and the HA introduced enhancement measures for the means test mechanism of the Samaritan Fund and the CCF Medical Assistance Programmes in early 2019 to alleviate the financial burden of patients’ families arising from drug expenses. We will further refine the mechanism after reviewing the effectiveness of the measures. At present, the Samaritan Fund and the CCF Medical Assistance Programmes cover 48 and 34 drugs respectively. We will continue to increase the number of drugs covered under the two Funds and relax the clinical criteria of existing drugs in accordance with the established mechanism, thereby strengthening the support for the needs of patients with cancers and uncommon disorders.

Reference

2020 Policy Address

Dr. Pierre Chan