Restrictions in Using Health Care Vouchers
|
-
Health care vouchers can be used for
- services provided by medical practitioners, Chinese medicine practitioners, dentists, chiropractors, registered nurses and enrolled nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers and medical laboratory technologists (the use of services provided by allied health professionals and laboratory test services is subject to the current referral arrangement). Optometrists (in Part I of the register) will also become eligible to join the Scheme and make voucher claims for their clients with effect from 1 January 2012.
- preventive care, curative and rehabilitative services
-
Health care vouchers cannot be used to
- for solely purchasing products such as medication, spectacles, dried seafood or medical equipment
- to pay for subsidised public healthcare services, including those publicly subsidised healthcare services purchased from the private sector (such as the primary healthcare services proposed to be purchased by the Hospital Authority from the private sector in Tin Shui Wai under a pilot scheme)
-
Any unused vouchers in the first pilot period (ie. 1 January 2009 – 31 December 2011) can be carried forward to the extended pilot period until 31 December 2014, but no advance of vouchers which are yet to be issued is allowed.
-
In general voucher recipients need such services a few times a year, the Government therefore encourages them to use one voucher each time as far as possible, so that they can receive services several times a year and establish a long-term healthcare relationship with healthcare personnel for better health protection.
-
The Government has no plan to impose a limit on the number of vouchers that can be used each time, but will further review the matter in the light of actual operation.
|
|
