Zi-lan Li, a member of the Life Insurance Council of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, stated that the industry believes medical inflation has remained elevated in recent years, and that it is now an appropriate time to review areas where the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) can be optimized.She added that the federation is currently conducting a review of voluntary health insurance products to examine areas for further enhancement. The federation hopes to discuss with regulators and all stakeholders how to improve the VHIS framework, with a view to providing the public with more affordable premiums and a better range of voluntary health insurance products in the future. She cited examples from some countries where hospital medical insurance products adopt a co-payment model, under which policyholders are responsible for a portion, such as 20%, with the remainder borne by insurers.The Insurance Authority previously indicated that it is reviewing Hong Kong's medical insurance business, aiming to complete more comprehensive data analysis within this year and to put forward recommendations on mainstream medical insurance products such as VHIS. (ec/j)
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