The Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme was extended to three more medical service institutions in Shenzhen on Wednesday, expanding the number of organizations accepting the vouchers — called EHCV — to seven in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The three hospitals are Shenzhen CKJ Stomatological Hospital in Luohu district, Dental Bauhinia and Shenzhen New Frontier United Family Hospital in Futian district.
CKJ Hospital and Dental Bauhinia are the first professional dental service providers to take part under the pilot scheme, marking a major breakthrough and addressing the pressing demand of eligible Hong Kong elderly seeking dental services across the border, where charges are much lower than in Hong Kong.
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Together with the three new participants, plus the University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital and its Li Zhi Yuan clinic, which have already joined the program, a total of five institutions providing dental services are available in Shenzhen, with two being professional dental service providers.
In order to facilitate more Hong Kong seniors seeking medical treatment, CKJ Hospital offered them discounts and opened a green channel as well as a dedicated inquiry window.
Brian Siu, executive director of New Frontier, said the hospital has seen a rapid increase in the number of patients from Hong Kong. “About 20 percent of patients who come to us each month have Hong Kong identity cards and the proportion is projected to reach 30 percent by the middle of next year,” he added.
EHCVs may be used for outpatient healthcare services provided by nine designated departments at New Frontier, including family medicine, health management, dental, ophthalmology, and surgery.
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Moreover, the arrangements for shared use of EHCVs between spouses and the EHCV Pilot Reward Scheme under the EHCV Scheme are equally applicable to the above three medical institutions.
Two more hospitals, the Nansha Division of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University and Tungwah Hospital in Dongguan, are scheduled to join the program in early September.
Launched in 2009, the EHCV program currently subsidizes eligible Hong Kong persons aged 65 and above HK$2,000 ($257) every year, but it does not cover inpatient services, prepaid healthcare services and day surgery procedures.
Eddie Lee, deputy secretary for Health, said he expected the launch of EHCVs in more high-quality medical institutions in Guangdong to further enhance the medical welfare and quality of life of elderly people from Hong Kong living across the border.
He emphasized that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government closely monitors problems in the implement of the EHCV Scheme, such as misuse, false reporting, or medical accidents, and will take immediate action against them when necessary.
