新年外遊行大運,旅遊保險保平安
Categories:Health Insurance, Healthcare, Hong Kong, Medical Insurance, News |Published on May 20, 2013
近年香港經濟暢旺,帶動不少港人趁龍年行大運,與一家大小或三五知己一起結伴到外地旅遊,渡過一個輕鬆愉快的農曆新年。過去農曆新年旅遊旺季,港人多次在外地遇上特大旅行團車禍,危及性命並造成財物重大損失,一再突顯了購買旅遊保險的重要,可惜有調查發現眾多團友無意購買旅遊保險。
三成港人新年旅遊不買保險
早前旅遊業議會主席胡兆英表示近三成外遊團團友並未購買旅遊保險,尤以短線旅行團團友為甚,短線旅行團團費往往僅數百元,而旅遊保險的保費約為80元,權衡輕重後團友可能會認為保費相對太高,因此購買旅遊保險的意欲較低。
事實上,世界各地著名的旅遊勝地時有意外發生,例如上年同期已經先後有兩個香港旅行團在內地遇上嚴重車禍,最終導致5死30多傷,由於可見意外難以預計,為防不時之需,港人旅遊時切勿掉以輕心,最好事前購買旅遊保險,以策安全。
現時一般旅行團不會強制要求團友在購買旅遊保險後,才可以出發,主要原因是擔心會令消費者反感,只有部份長線郵輪假期的舉辦者,為了保障參加者安全,才會強制顧客必須先購買旅遊保險才可出發。
嚴選最佳復活節旅遊保險
鑑於今年復活節只需請3天假、便可連放10假期,適宜進行長短綫旅遊,不少港人已經開始計劃去旅行,即使他們有意在旅行前預先購買旅遊保險,他們往往只著眼於計劃的價格,忽略了保險計劃的保障範圍與保額,假如發生的旅遊事故不幸地並不在保險保障範圍內,將會招致到不必要的額外開支。因此,出外旅遊始終要因應旅遊目的地及行程所需,而購買全面及合適的旅遊保障 。
在選擇相應的旅遊保險時,首選應該是提供24小時緊急支援服務的旅遊保險,可惜市面上很多保費僅逾10元的旅遊保險均不提供這種服務,24小時緊急支援服務可以為受保人安排緊急醫療運送,確保受保人得到適當的治療、安排親友前往當地探訪和在治療後送返現居地,保障範圍甚至包括法律支援和旅遊資料查詢等,毫無疑問是最實用的服務。
此外,亦需考慮旅遊保險的保額,特別是醫療保障一項的保額,鑑於港人入住外國醫院將被徵收非本地居民收費,費用自然較高昂,若入住歐美等地的醫院,醫療費用在計算匯率後動輒過百萬港元。因此購買旅遊保險前,先了解當地的醫療費用,再選擇具充足保額的旅遊保險,自然安心出門開心旅遊。
Maternity Costs in Hong Kong Rising Sharply
Categories:Health Insurance, Healthcare, Hong Kong, Maternity, Medical Insurance, News |Published on May 20, 2013
The costs of delivering a child at a Hong Kong Private Hospital have risen by up to 49 percent in 2011, according to a recent report by the Hong Kong Consumer Council, sharply outpacing actual medical inflation in the city, which is typically 15 percent per year.
In 2007 the Government of the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong legislated a mandatory fee of HK$ 39,000 on all non-resident mothers wishing to give birth at a Hong Kong Public Hospital. The legislation was intended to dissuade an increased number of pregnant Mainland China residents from using Hong Kong healthcare facilities to deliver their children, freeing up more space for local Hong Kong mothers and going some way toward alleviating an increasing burden which was being placed on the city’s public healthcare system.
The legislation did not enforce any mandatory costs for pregnant women giving birth at a Hong Kong Private Hospital.
Despite the mandatory booking fee imposed by the HKSAR government, the number of foreign nationals seeking to give birth in a Hong Kong public hospital has increased since 2007, to the extent that an approximate 50 percent of all births in the city are from non-resident or foreign national mothers.
With an estimated 92,000 non-resident mothers seeking delivery options at a Public Hospital in Hong Kong in 2011, these facilities have had an increased patient burden placed on them which they are struggling to deal with. This has forced many pregnant women who would have otherwise utilized a Public hospital to deliver their child to consider alternatives at one of Hong Kong’s Private maternity facilities.
However, as with Public Hospitals the demand for maternity services at Private facilities is also increasing. Unlike Hong Kong’s Public medical system, where healthcare costs are monitored by both the Hospital Authority and The Department of Health, the Private medical system in the city charges for healthcare services in line with demand for services and medical inflation.
Consequently higher demand has lead to higher prices, which have caught some patients by surprise.
The Private Maternity Hospital with the highest price increases is Precious Blood Hospital in Sham Shui Po, which charged 48.9 percent more for maternity services in 2011 than it did in 2010. One expectant mother who opted to use Precious Blood Hospital to deliver her child was quoted an initial price of HK$ 45,000. When the final bill for the maternity costs arrived, however, the hospital had levied a final fee of HK$ 70,000 for all services.
HK$ 5,000 of this fee was attributed to the fact that the mother had a Caesarian Section (or C-Section) one hour earlier than scheduled, at the request of the doctor. Shockingly, HK$ 15,000 of the bill was due to “administration fees” for the hospital. Other charges included HK$ 66 for medical gauze, HK$ 3,000 for baby care, HK$ 1,500 for an extra five hours of fetal monitoring, and HK$ 500 for “painless” childbirth after normal working hours.
Precious Blood is not alone in increasing the prices for Maternity Services. Other hospitals which increased the costs of delivery include The Baptist Hospital with a 31.1 percent increase, and St. Teresa Hospital which increased 30 percent. At the lower end of the spectrum, St Paul’s Hospital increased maternity costs by 6.5 percent. The increases were levied in regards to a 3 night maternity package with the exception of Precious Blood, where the figure was for a 2 night maternity package.
Hong Kong Sanatorium Hospital was the only private maternity hospital to not increase the charges associated with maternity this year.
The increase in fees for Maternity services in Hong Kong Private Hospitals has lead to calls for the private medical system to be more transparent in the way in which it charges patients. However, there is a clear trend that maternity costs are increasing and that patients wishing to give birth in a Hong Kong Hospital, whether private or public, should consider obtaining some form of Hong Kong Maternity Insurance Coverage to ensure that they are able to cover the ever increasing costs associated with having a child in the city.