The Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme was initially launched on 1 January 2009 for a period of three years to try out a new concept of enhancing the provision of primary care service for the elderly. Under the Pilot Scheme, five vouchers of $50 each were provided to each elder aged 70 or above annually. The Pilot Scheme aims to supplement existing public healthcare services (e.g. General Out-patient and Specialist Out-patient Clinics) by providing financial incentive for elders to choose private healthcare services that best suit their needs, including preventive care. It is in addition to the existing public healthcare services, which will continue to be made available to elders after the introduction of Elderly Health Care Voucher. By encouraging elders to seek consultation and establish a closer relationship with private doctors who are familiar with their health conditions, it also helps promote the concept of family doctor.
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Based on the result of Interim Review, the Government decided to extend the Pilot Scheme and increased the annual voucher amount for each eligible elder from $250 to $500 in 2012.
In response to the positive feedback, the Government increased the annual voucher amount to $1,000 in 2013. From 2014, the Scheme has been converted from a pilot project into a recurrent programme and the annual voucher amount has also been increased to $2,000. We continue to allow the unspent vouchers to be carried forward and accumulated by an eligible elder, subject to a ceiling of $4,000 to encourage elders to make good use of the vouchers for primary care services including both curative and preventive care.