ITIC APAC 2025 | Hong Kong’s healthcare landscape

The ITIJ team have been reporting live from ITIC APAC in Hong Kong this week (June 2025) sharing the discussions that took place at the conference. Read all reports

Lynne Fung, Executive Director, Business Development, Matilda International Hospital

Fung started by talking about the healthcare landscape in Hong Kong, and said there is a well-established dual-track healthcare system, that the public and private sectors complement each other, and that permanent residents access public healthcare at minimal or no cost. She said the long-term sustainability of this model highlights the strategic importance of private health insurance in advancing universal health coverage.

Fung said the public sector consists of 43 public hospitals and institutions organised into seven hospital clusters, as well as 49 specialist outpatient clinics and 74 general outpatient clinics. 

But, she said, “there are challenges”. The system is overburdened, there are not enough doctors, and there are long wait times. 

She said the private sector consists of 14 private hospitals, 10% of hospital beds, and doctors’ fees are unregulated.

Fung went on to talk about access to public services and said that residents – eligible persons (including expatriates and foreign workers) who hold Hong Kong identity cards with permission to remain in Hong Kong – can use public health services at subsidised rates, but there can be long waiting lists. 

She said visitors (non-eligible persons) can use the public system but fees apply. Standard fees are charged, with exceptions made for proven financial hardship. Fung added that both can choose private care within public services. 

Fung focused on health coverage facts and trends, and said when it comes to insurance:

• One third of the population have health insurance
• The government introduced a Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) in 2019 and approximately 1.4 million are covered
• Greater healthcare demand has driven a 55% rise in Hong Kong employee medical premiums
• Demand is increasing for bundled care packages.

As regards hospital facts and trends, she noted:

• An increase in direct billing arrangements (around 200 insurance agreements) 
• 85% of their patients are covered by insurance 
• A noticeable cut in corporate benefits – including health insurance 
• The average hospitalisation expense per operation was HK$21,851 (£2,049)
• Price transparency initiatives.

Fung said best practice is to provide quality care and manage costs to create value for the patient. She said the best outcomes will be through robust governance. 

Lester Woo, CEO, InBridge Advisors

Woo focused on navigating the current Hong Kong medical insurance landscape, and said that medical cost inflation rose from 7.22% in 2022 to 8.4% in 2024. He said Hong Kong consistently ranks as the second most expensive medical market globally.

Woo said the key drivers of medical cost inflation are an ageing population, rising demand for private care, advancements in medical technology, an increase in chronic, lifestyle-related illnesses, and high professional service fees.

Woo added that the average annual medical insurance inflation (without age bracket factor) was 8.2% in 2022 compared with 8.4% in 2024, and said that when it comes to the individual insurance market, a big challenge is high premiums, adding that premiums increase sharply when age-related adjustments are factored in. He said the elderly face significant hikes, especially for mid-tier and international private medical insurance (IPMI) plans with high/unlimited coverage. Woo said that 22.3% of the population are now over 65. There is also a stagnant population growth hindered by emigration and low birth rate.

Woo said the IPMI market trends show that despite overall premium growth, the number of policies actually declined due to clients shifting to VHIS (local insurance plans), some choosing not to renew, and a decrease in the expatriate population. 

He wondered if VHIS was a long-term fix, and said it offers similar coverage to IPMI, that the insurers’ portfolios are still young and relatively healthy, and it provides a temporary buffer, not a permanent solution. But he said there are sustainability concerns. 

Woo spoke about the corporate insurance market segmentation and said that mass and mid-tier market challenges include medical costs exceeding benefit limits, and that increased claims equal higher loss ratios, and it drives up renewal premiums.

He said high-end/IPMI market pressures include high individual claims due to unlimited coverage, average annual premium hikes are 16–18%, and there were budget constraints.  

Woo said there was a systemic imbalance caused by soaring medical costs, a weak economy, an ageing population, and premium hikes linked to high loss ratios. 

He expected there would be adecline in IPMI uptake, and an increased reliance on public healthcare. He said that over 70% of Hong Kong’s population relied on public healthcare each year. 

Dr Yau Fong Chi, Senior Consultant, Emergency Specialist, Asia Pacific Health Specialist Medical Centre (Hong Kong)

Dr Fong Chi concentrated his presentation on the opportunities for enhancing patient care, and started by talking about public healthcare and its strengths and challenges. Strengths include an affordable ER fee – HK$1,230 – and he said it is efficient for critical cases. 

He said challenges include the fact that medical reports can cost over HK$895, there’s a six- to eight-week wait for documentation, and it is inefficient for semi-urgent needs. 

Dr Fong Chi went on to talk about private healthcare and its opportunities and limitations. He said opportunities include transparent itemised billing, fast medical reports, personalised care, and shorter wait times. But limitations include higher patient costs, limited emergency accessibility, and that government ambulances are used at public hospitals only. 

Dr Fong Chi talked about navigating critical versus semi-urgent care and said for critical cases public hospitals are the only viable option. He said a key challenge is timely, affordable semi-urgent care. He added that semi-urgent cases mean documentation delays in the public system, and that private ambulances cost up to US$1,000. 

He said that in order to enhance accessibility to care, there need to be collaborative solutions, accessible transport, and streamlined processes.

He then spoke about wheelchair vehicle transfer services and why they are safe and affordable. 

Dr Fong Chi said it’s important to collaborate for better patient care, and to recognise system gaps, develop accessible solutions, and foster collaboration where insurers, providers and stakeholders work together.