Hot Issue:
The 2014-15 Budget:
Expenditure on Public Healthcare
1
Introduction
A report released by the Working Group on Long-term Fiscal Planning revealed
that the issues of ageing population and declining labour force would lead to a
slowdown in economic growth and the public revenue of Hong Kong. At present, the
three policy areas of education, health and social welfare constitute almost 60
percent of HK’s recurrent expenditure.
For public healthcare, the Government has commenced the construction,
expansion and redevelopment of hospitals and implemented a number of major
complementary projects to prepare for the community’s long long-term demand for
healthcare services due to the ageing population. The 2014-15 Budget has also
proposed a long-term strategy on public healthcare. It is suggested that individuals’
awareness of public hygiene should be enhanced in order to reduce the demand on
public healthcare services.
In view that there is a rising trend of the number of young smokers around the
world, studies by organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO)
pointed out that increasing tobacco duty is an effective means of controlling smoking
in order to lower the health risks of the public. Imposing tobacco duty could also
help reduce direct medical expenses caused by smoking and second-hand smoking.
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In view of this, the Budget has also proposed to increase the tobacco duty rate.
Questions for Enquiries
1. Do you think that the proportion of recurrent
government expenditure on education, health and
social welfare is appropriate? Why?
2. Some people think that the rate of increase in
tobacco duty as proposed in the Budget is too low to
have any strong deterrent effect on the smokers. Do
you agree? Why?
3. The Government intends to cultivate the public’s
awareness of public hygiene so as to reduce the demand on
public medical services. To achieve this long-term goal, what
practical ways would you suggest?
3
Background
 HKSAR. (updated on 26 February, 2014). The 2014-15 Budget. Retrieved
from http://www.budget.gov.hk/2014/eng/estimates.html
 Food and Health Bureau, HKSAR. (Updated on 7 April, 2014). Health
Expenditure. Retrieved from
http://www.fhb.gov.hk/statistics/en/statistics/health_expenditure.htm
 Press Releases, HKSAR. (26 February, 2014). Budget Speech by the
Financial Secretary. Retrieved from
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201402/26/P201402260322.htm
 Information Services Department, HKSAR. (26 February, 2014).
Spending to be reined in, revenues broadened. Retrieved from
http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/finance/html/2014/02/201402
26_105052.shtml?pickList=topstories
＞ More info
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 South China Morning Post. (14 December, 2012). Hong Kong’s outof-pocket medical expenses set to double by 2020. Retrieved from
http://www.scmp.com/business/article/1104776/hong-kongs-outpocket-medical-expenses-set-double-2020
 Information Services Department, HKSAR. (9 April, 2013). HK
healthcare is a dual-track system. Retrieved from
http://www.news.gov.hk/en/record/html/2013/04/20130409_190
409.shtml
 People’s Daily Online. (13 October, 2010). Hong Kong to increase
public healthcare expenses. Retrieved from
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90785/7165463.h
tml
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 The Wall Street Journal. (n.d.). Healthcare options in Hong Kong.
Retrieved from http://guides.wsj.com/hong-kong/guide-to-hongkong/health-care/
 China Daily Hong Kong Edition. (16 January, 2014). We must plan
ahead to preserve Hong Kong’s financial reserves. Retrieved from
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/201401/16/content_17238328.htm
 The Huffington Post. (25 September, 2009). Does Hong Kong have
the world’s best healthcare system? Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-lewis/does-hong-konghave-the-w_b_299907.html
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1. Do you think that the proportion of recurrent government
expenditure on education, health and social welfare is
appropriate? Why?
 South China Morning Post. (6 May, 2014). Performance of health care
facilities needs to be optimised to meet demand. Retrieved from
http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kongchina/article/1502475/performance-health-care-facilities-needs-beoptimised-meet
 School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong. (n.d.). Hong
Kong’s Health Spending – 1989 to 2033. Retrieved from
http://www.ha.org.hk/haconvention/hac2006proceedings/doc/P2_2.pd
f
 Global Post. (1 October, 2013). 8 places that do health care better than
the US. Retrieved from
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/131001/global＞ More info
health-care-systems-obamacare
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1. Do you think that the proportion of recurrent government
expenditure on education, health and social welfare is
appropriate? Why?
 China Daily Asia. (27 February, 2014). John Tsang warms of looming
budget deficit. Retrieved from
http://www.chinadailyasia.com/news/201402/27/content_15121023.html
 HSBC. (28 February, 2014). A mature budget for Hong Kong’s mature
economy. Retrieved from http://www.hsbcnet.com/gbm/globalinsights/insights/2014/a-mature-budget-for-hong-kongs-matureeconomy.html
 South China Morning Post. (19 May, 2014). Filibustering lawmakers say
fiscal crisis is government bogeyman. Retrieved from
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1515023/filibustering＞ More info
lawmakers-say-fiscal-crisis-government-bogeyman
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1. Do you think that the proportion of recurrent government
expenditure on education, health and social welfare is
appropriate? Why?
 Information Services Department, HKSAR. (September, 2013). Hong Kong:
The Facts – Social Welfare. Retrieved from
http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/social_welfare.pdf
 Information Services Department, HKSAR. (April, 2014). Hong Kong: The
Facts – Education. Retrieved from
http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/education.pdf
 The Establishment Post. (22 May, 2014). Asia Education System in Tip-Top
Form. Retrieved from http://www.establishmentpost.com/asias-educationsystem-tip-top-form/
 Economic Times. (13 May, 2014). Singapore and Korea take the lead in newlook, QS University Rankings: Asia. Retrieved from
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/203691/8625145.html
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2. Some people think that the rate of increase in tobacco duty as
proposed in the Budget is too low to have any strong deterrent
effect on the smokers. Do you agree? Why?
 South China Morning Post. (22 February, 2014).
Budget increase in Hong Kong’s tobacco tax
likely to be small. Retrieved from
http://www.scmp.com/news/hongkong/article/1432940/budget-increase-hongkongs-tobacco-tax-likely-be-small
 The Standard. (27 February, 2014). Cigarette
tax increase not just revenue grab. Retrieved
from
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.
asp?we_cat=11&art_id=142952&sid=41678602
&con_type=1&d_str=20140227&fc=4
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2. Some people think that the rate of increase in tobacco duty as
proposed in the Budget is too low to have any strong deterrent
effect on the smokers. Do you agree? Why?
 Information Services Department, HKSAR. (26 February,
2014). Tobacco duty to rise. Retrieved from
http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/health/html/201
4/02/20140226_105009.shtml
 China Daily Asia. (21 February, 2014). Focus HK: When the
smoke clears. Retrieved from
http://www.chinadailyasia.com/focus/201402/21/content_15119846.html
 Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. (26 March,
2014). Big tax hike can reduce tobacco use by one-third
and prevent 200 million premature deaths. Retrieved from
http://www.cosh.org.hk/en/content/web.do?page=news
20140326
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Enquiry 3
2. Some people think that the rate of increase in tobacco duty as
proposed in the Budget is too low to have any strong deterrent
effect on the smokers. Do you agree? Why?
 Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. (26
February, 2014). COSH response to the tobacco
control policies proposed by The Budget. Retrieved
from
http://www.cosh.org.hk/en/content/web.do?page=
news20140226
 Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. (20
February, 2014). Open Letter to Financial Secretary,
HKSAR Government: Raising Tobacco Tax to
Encourage Smoking Cessation and Prevent Youth
Smoking. Retrieved from
http://www.smokefree.hk/UserFiles/attachments/n
ews/2014/Open_Letter_to_FS_Raising_Tobacco_Tax
_Eng.pdf
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3. The Government intends to cultivate the public’s awareness of
public hygiene so as to reduce the demand on public medical
services. To achieve this long-term goal, what practical ways
would you suggest?
 South China Morning Post. (5 March, 2013). Hong
Kong may be forgetting lessons of Sars. Retrieved
from http://www.scmp.com/news/hongkong/article/1177262/hong-kong-may-be-forgettinglessons-sars
 World Health Organization. (5 May, 2014). SAVE LIVES:
Clean Your Hands – WHO’s global annual campaign.
Retrieved from http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/en/
 CNN. (3 May, 2014). Can SARS lessons prevent a
MERS virus outbreak? Retrieved from
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/01/health/mersvirus-sars-lessons/
＞ More info
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Enquiry 3
3. The Government intends to cultivate the public’s awareness of
public hygiene so as to reduce the demand on public medical
services. To achieve this long-term goal, what practical ways
would you suggest?
 The Standard. (19 July, 2013). New alert as mosquitoes bite
again in Tin Shui Wai. Retrieved from
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?art_id=1357
03&con_type=1
 Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health. (May 2014).
Hand Hygiene Awareness Day 2014 – The importance of hand
hygiene combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Retrieved
from http://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/cdw_v11_11.pdf
 Public Opinion Programme, The University of Hong Kong.
(December, 2012). Personal Hygiene awareness 10 years after
SARS survey. Retrieved from
http://hkupop.hku.hk/english/report/postSARS/content/bg.ht
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3. The Government intends to cultivate the public’s awareness of
public hygiene so as to reduce the demand on public medical
services. To achieve this long-term goal, what practical ways
would you suggest?
 Press Releases, HKSAR. (30 May, 2012). LCQ 20:Demand
for public medical services. Retrieved from
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201205/30/P2012053
00373.htm
 Hospital Authority. (2009). Helping People Stay Healthy.
Retrieved from
http://www.ha.org.hk/upload/publication_29/250.pdf
 Hong Kong Business. (4 June, 2013). Optimizing healthcare
assets and developments in Hong Kong. Retrieved from
http://hongkongbusiness.hk/healthcare/commentary/red
ucing-operational-costs-assets-key-hong-kong-healthcaressuccess
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