Health insurance in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s healthcare system is one of the best in the world. In fact, it was ranked the world’s most efficient healthcare system by Bloomerg in 2018. And not for the first time!

In fact, Hong Kong’s hospitals have state-of-the-art equipment and some of the best doctors in the world. The country also covers 90% or more of its citizens’ medical expenses, making healthcare very affordable. The proof of this success: life expectancy at birth is the longest in the world!

The healthcare system is characterized by a central public system, promoting universal access to care on the model of the British National Health System (NHS). It is financed not through payroll taxes, but directly from government revenues. Rather than offering health insurance to citizens, as is the case in France, the government directly subsidizes hospitals to the tune of 90% of the fees set on an official price scale. So, for example, a citizen admitted to the emergency room will only pay HKD 100 (around €12), which corresponds to 10% of actual medical costs.

While public hospitals provide the majority of care in the country, some operations can only be carried out by private specialists. However, private care is not subsidized and has no defined fee structure. The cost of care in private hospitals is therefore incredibly high by comparison.

Hong Kongers therefore generally take out private insurance to cover private hospital expenses.

Please note that public medical expenses are only reimbursed for holders of a local identity card. Travelers and expatriates therefore pay ten times more for their healthcare than permanent residents.