Cap On Eyecare Spending Needed: Lam Ching-choi

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2019-03-12 HKT 12:04

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  The Elderly Commission head says spending the voucher money on just one area defeats the purpose of the scheme. Photo: RTHK

Lam Ching-choi talks to RTHK's Janice Wong

The chairman of the Elderly Commission, executive councillor Lam Ching-choi, on Tuesday welcomed a proposed cap on medical vouchers being used for eyecare, but said the step should be reviewed after three years or so.

Lam said such a review would enable officials to assess the effectiveness of the new rule.

He said it would also allow the government to consider whether the voucher scheme should be expanded to cover additional services that are expected to be offered by district health centres across the territory.

The commission head said the cap planned by the government is a necessary step as spending the whole or the majority of the voucher amount on a single item defeats the goal of ensuring the provision of overall healthcare for elderly people.

Lam told RTHK's Janice Wong that the use of the vouchers should be gradually allowed in more areas of healthcare.