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7 - Hong Kong

Keeping Health Care Simple

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2021

M. Ramesh
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore
Azad S. Bali
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra
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Summary

Hong Kong has one of the best health care systems in the world, noted for its low costs and high equity. It is a rather simple system, with hierarchical governance structures and sparse policy tools centred on public ownership and financing that have undergone only minimal changes since the 1960s. The purpose of the chapter is to describe the development and functioning of the health care system in Hong Kong and examine the policy tools that underlie it. The case shows that it is possible to achieve universal health care through traditional organizational and fiscal policy tools. The case also serves as a cautionary lesson for health policy and international consultants proposing complex mix of policy tools in health care when simpler tools used effectively can achieve universal health care. This vital lesson is lost on the Hong Kong government itself as it promotes privately financed and provided health care to complement the public system.

Type
Chapter
Information
Health Policy in Asia
A Policy Design Approach
, pp. 149 - 168
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Hong Kong
  • M. Ramesh, National University of Singapore, Azad S. Bali, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Health Policy in Asia
  • Online publication: 02 December 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108692656.007
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Hong Kong
  • M. Ramesh, National University of Singapore, Azad S. Bali, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Health Policy in Asia
  • Online publication: 02 December 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108692656.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Hong Kong
  • M. Ramesh, National University of Singapore, Azad S. Bali, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Health Policy in Asia
  • Online publication: 02 December 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108692656.007
Available formats
×