Full fee waivers rise 20-fold to 280,000 after healthcare reform, minister says

About 280,000 patients have secured full fee waivers since Hong Kong’s public healthcare fee reform took effect at the start of the year — a 20-fold increase from the previous figure of 14,000, the health minister has said. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau revealed the figures on Saturday as he defended the reform, which raised user fees for non-urgent and less serious services to reduce the government subsidy rate. He said the changes were intended to optimise the use of existing resources…