HK medical burden unsustainable as half lack insurance, Insurance Authority chief says

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Only about half of Hong Kong's 7 million residents have insurance coverage, leaving the rest to rely on the government for healthcare, Insurance Authority chief executive Clement…

Only about half of Hong Kong's 7 million residents have insurance coverage, leaving the rest to rely on the government for healthcare, Insurance Authority chief executive Clement Cheung Wan-ching said at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors Annual Conference on Thursday.

Insurance accounts for just 16 percent of local medical spending, while the government shoulders 51 percent, Cheung noted. He added that with medical inflation hitting 10 percent and only 20 percent of seniors over 65 holding coverage, the financial burden on the government is unsustainable.

Cheung pointed out that the regulator is backing annuity plans that allow residents to retire in the mainland to ease this pressure. This requires integrating welfare payment systems, sharing medical records, and arranging cross-border ambulance services so patients can return to Hong Kong for urgent care, he said.

On climate risks, Cheung said the authority is working with universities on a local climate modeling project. The initiative uses academic data to help insurers design affordable parametric products that carry low basis risk and are easy for the public to understand.

To tackle these interconnected challenges over the next five years, the regulator plans to optimize supervision and use platform data to drive innovation, Cheung added. This approach aims to draw more capital into public-private partnerships, improving services and ensuring residents can "live well and live safe," he said.

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