78% locals fear medical expenses will be burdensome in the coming decade
A survey on health protection planning, targeting GBA respondents, has shown that 78% of Macau respondents fear that medical expenses for themselves and their families will incur a “very heavy” or “rather heavy” financial burden within the next 10 years.
The proportion of respondents from Hong Kong (76%) and Macau (78%) were higher than that from the mainland (65%).
A survey titled “Healthcare Protection in the Greater Bay Area (GBA)” conducted by FWD Hong Kong sought to understand respondents’ views on healthcare protection plans for individuals and their families, in particular their budgets for medical expenses and critical illnesses.
Conducted in September 2022, the survey shows that around 60-75% of respondents in Hong Kong, Macau, and the mainland expected medical expenditure for both individuals and family members to increase by over 20% in 10 years’ time, with the costliest treatments anticipated for critical/serious illnesses such as cancer, cardiac disease and strokes.
The survey also indicated that 49% of Macau respondents set aside over 20% of their household income to medical insurance, while 62% allocated the same amount for critical illness insurance.
This evidences a disparity with respondents from Hong Kong, as 70% of Hong Kong respondents spent no more than 20% of their household income on health insurance protection.
Meanwhile, although 95% of Hong Kong respondents considered healthcare protection to be “rather important” or “very important,” only approximately half have medical insurance plans (including under the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme – VHIS) or critical illness insurance (56% and 49% respectively).
These numbers were considerably lower than those from Macau (71% and 46% respectively) and the mainland (80% and 70% respectively).
Kelvin Yu, chief product officer of FWD Hong Kong & Macau, said, “The Covid-19 pandemic in the past few years has highlighted the importance of physical and mental wellness.”
“Medical and critical illness insurance will not only provide individuals with a reserve that caters for their future healthcare needs, but also helps ease the psychological burden associated with unexpected future medical expenditure, allowing them to worry less and enjoy a healthier life,” he added.
The survey revealed that Hong Kong respondents are the most passive among other regions in terms of healthcare protection planning, with less coverage and expenditure on health insurance.
Their awareness of mental health protection was also found to be lower than respondents in Macau and other cities in the GBA. Staff Reporter
