Hong Kong to implement separate fees for medical scans

Hong Kong's health minister, Lo Chung-mau, announced plans to charge patients separate fees for certain scans, like CT and MRI, at public outpatient clinics. This change is part of significant reforms to the healthcare subsidy model. Currently, these scans are free due to full government subsidies. Lo noted that increasing demand and longer waiting times have prompted the need for co-payments. Hospitalized patients and those in emergency rooms will not be affected by this proposal. The fee adjustments aim to reduce resource abuse and encourage patients to consult family doctors before seeing specialists.