Entitlement and access to public health care services

Elderly Health Care Voucher

The Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme was launched on a pilot basis for a period of three years from 1 January 2009 and was converted to a recurrent programme in 2014. The electronic vouchers are issued annually to residents aged 70 or above (2016 or before)/65 or above (starting from 2017) to partially subsidise their use of private primary health care services.

Eligible elders do not need to register in advance. When they need to receive healthcare service and use the vouchers, they just need to show their Hong Kong Identity Card to an enrolled healthcare service provider and sign a consent form. The vouchers will not be issued in paper form. The healthcare service provider will deduct the amount via an electronic system and issue a receipt to the elderly after the voucher is deducted.

Under the Health Care Voucher Scheme, all residents aged 70 or above (2016 or before)/65 or above (starting from 2017) who hold Hong Kong Identity Cards or Certificates of Exemption were provided annually health care vouchers of the amounts as follows:

Any unspent voucher amount can be carried forward and accumulated, but the unspent voucher amount cannot exceed the accumulation limit of $5,000. Advance use of vouchers which have not yet issued is not allowed.

Health care vouchers can be used for the following:

• services provided by medical practitioners, Chinese medicine practitioners, dentists, chiropractors, registered nurses, enrolled nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers and medical laboratory technologists (services provided by allied health professionals and laboratory test services fall under the current referral arrangement). Optometrists (in Part I of the register) also became eligible to join the Scheme and make voucher claims for their clients with effect from 1 January 2012.
• preventive care, and curative and rehabilitative services.

Health care vouchers cannot be used for the following:

• to solely purchasing products such as medication, spectacles, dried seafood or medical equipment;
• to pay for subsidised public health care services, including publicly subsidised health care services purchased from the private sector (such as the General Outpatient Clinic Public-Private Partnership Programme);
• inpatient services, pre-paid healthcare services and day surgery procedures, such as cataract surgery or endoscopy services; and
• to settle the fees of healthcare services provided by service providers who have not enrolled in the Scheme.

Residents aged 70 or above (2016 or before)/65 or above (starting from 2017) who hold a valid Hong Kong Identity Card (permanent and non-permanent) are eligible voucher recipients even if they are not permanent residents. Residents aged 70 or above (2016 or before)/65 or above (starting from 2017) who are receiving CSSA or disability allowance are also eligible for the health care vouchers.