The Politics of Health Finance Reform in Hong Kong

Chan, Raymond K. H.

doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-3982-9.ch006

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 8 publications

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“…The tension between values and interests in policy debate and decision is typical of Hong Kong (Chan, ; Wu & Chou, ). Our findings question the relevance of traditional values such as respecting the elderly in policy designs and decisions in Chinese society, especially in a rapidly aging society poses a real challenge regarding resource distribution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generational conflict and provisions for the elderly in Hong Kong: The relevance of position‐based interest and values

Chan

Wang

2018

Asian Soc Wrk & Pol Rev

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Respect for the elderly and hence the associated rights support a generational contract. Nevertheless, the case of the recent debate on the universal retirement scheme in Hong Kong has raised concerns about its strength. We identify relevant items from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey to explore the orientations of different generations toward others. The analysis shows differences between younger and older generations. Regression analyses show that values are not significant in explaining the differences, but various positions, including sex, marital status, and education, and perceptions of the elderly are relevant. Such differences across generations might weaken the generational contract and potentially engender conflicts as shown in the recent debate about the retirement scheme. We suggest short‐ and long‐term interest calculations, informed by their positions, play a more significant role in policy discussions and decisions, rather than simply appealing to values.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generational conflict and provisions for the elderly in Hong Kong: The relevance of position‐based interest and values

Chan

Wang

2018

Asian Soc Wrk & Pol Rev

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Introducing voluntary private health insurance in a mixed medical economy: are Hong Kong citizens willing to subscribe?

2017

BMC Health Serv Res

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BackgroundStruggling to correct the public-private imbalance in its health care system, the Hong Kong SAR Government seeks to introduce a government-regulated voluntary health insurance scheme, or VHIS, a distinctive financing instrument that combines the characteristics of private insurance with strong government regulation. This study examines citizens’ responses to the new scheme and their willingness to subscribe.MethodsFirst-hand data were collected from a telephone survey that randomly sampled 1793 Hong Kong adults from September 2014 to February 2015. Univariate and multivariate methods were employed in data analysis.ResultsMore than one third of the respondents explicitly stated intention of subscribing to the VHIS, a fairly high figure considering the scheme’s voluntary nature. Multivariate analysis revealed moderate evidence of adverse selection, defined as individuals’ opportunistic behaviors when making insurance purchasing decision based on their own assessment of risks or likelihood of making a claim.ConclusionThe excellent performance of Hong Kong’s public medical system has had two parallel impacts. On the one hand, high-risk residents, particularly the uninsured, do not face a pressing need to switch out of the overloaded public system despite its inadequacies; this, in turn, may reduce the impact of adverse selection that may lead to detrimental effects to the insurance market. On the other hand, high satisfaction reinforces the interests of those who have both the need for better services and the ability to pay for supplementary insurance. Furthermore, the high-risk population demonstrates a moderate interest in the insurance despite the availability of government subsidies. This may offset the intended effect of the reform to some extent.

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The Politics of Health Finance Reform in Hong Kong

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

Generational conflict and provisions for the elderly in Hong Kong: The relevance of position‐based interest and values

Generational conflict and provisions for the elderly in Hong Kong: The relevance of position‐based interest and values

Introducing voluntary private health insurance in a mixed medical economy: are Hong Kong citizens willing to subscribe?

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