Financial Assessment
Enhancement Measures of Means Test Mechanism The enhancement measures of the means test mechanism of the Samaritan Fund and Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes were implemented in 2019. Please click here for the details of financial assessment of Samaritan Fund. |
| (a) | Application for Drug Items |
| (b) | Application for Implantable Medical Devices for Interventional Procedures |
| (c) | Important Points to Note |
| (d) | Means Test Calculator
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| (a) | Application for Drug Items |
Under the financial eligibility criteria which is based on targeted subsidy principle, patient’s household affordability will be determined on the basis of his/her household’s Annual Disposable Financial Resources (ADFR), and the level of patient contributions will be determined based on a sliding scale. All applications are to be assessed on a household basis, taking into account the household income, expenditures and capital assets of the patient and his / her family members living under the same roof who have been included in the financial assessment.
The definition of “household”, first is to determine whether the patient is a dependent member of the household or not. A dependent is defined as a person who is unmarried AND either (i) under 18 years old; or (ii) 18-25 years old receiving full-time education. A patient who does not fulfil the above requirements is classified as a non-dependent patient. The following table lists out the definitions of household and core family member:
Patient Type |
Household and core family member definitions |
Dependent patient |
The patient, his/her parents1/legal guardians, and dependent2 siblings living under the same roof |
Non-dependent patient |
If married3 – the patient, his/her spouse, and dependent2 children1 (but not parents/legal guardians or siblings) living under the same roof |
When there is other family members who are living with the patient’s household and their basic necessity for living is maintained by patient’s household (e.g. the family member is an elderly who is dependent on patient’s household, or adult with no / low income and unable to sustain independent living; or individual unable to take care of oneself by reason of mental or physical condition, etc.), patient / applicant can include these dependent family members into the means test by providing their income, asset and expenditures information, and they will be taken into account in the calculation of allowable deductions and deductible allowance.
MSWs will have discretion to adjust the household size based on their professional judgment on a case-by-case basis in light of special familial factors or circumstances that warrant exceptional consideration4.
Annual disposable financial resources are taken as the annual household disposable income plus 50% of patients’ household net assets (i.e. Disposable Capital – Deductible Allowance).
Annual household disposable income is the annual household gross income less allowable deductions during the period. If patient is a recurrent applicant (which means patient has a drug application approved in previous 18 months), only 80% of his/ her annual household disposable income would be included in the calculation5.
Household gross income includes the actual income received in at least past 6 months6 but not limited to salary, pension, financial contributions from children, relatives and/or friends not living together, actual income generated from the assets and/or properties of the patient and his/her core family members living together, other actual income / compensation received on a regular basis, and the monthly payout provided under the annuity scheme7 and insurance policy. Financial assistance provided by the HKSAR Government (e.g. Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme, Working Family Allowance Scheme, Allowances under the Social Security Assistance (SSA) scheme such as Normal Disability Allowance, Higher Disability Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance, Old Age Allowance) and subsidy from the assistance programmes of the Community Care Fund (CCF) are excluded from the calculation of income.
Table 1 - Personal Allowances (as at 2 March 2024)
| Number of Household Member(s) (including the Patient) |
Total Personal Allowances (HK Dollar) |
|---|---|
| 1 Person | $7,510 |
| 2 Persons | $12,310 |
| 3 Persons | $18,070 |
| 4 Persons | $23,160 |
| 5 Persons | $31,720 |
| 6 Persons | $34,910 |
| 7 or more Persons | $38,190 |
Disposable capital includes cash owned by the patient and his / her core family members living together (including those previously held or present owns assets) at the time of the application and in the past 6 months (at least) and such which have been accrued through past savings from any sources or which have just been acquired, investments in stocks and shares, insurance10 / annuity scheme10, valuable possessions, property (for example, land, car park and flat owned in Hong Kong and outside Hong Kong), lump-sum compensation and other realizable assets. The first flat (self-owned or rented) resided in together by the patient’s household and the tools of trade owned by the patient’s household at the time of application are excluded from the calculation.
According to individual case merit, the MSWs may request for other documents, relevant documentary proof, and/or information on financial condition for more than past 6 months, and make enquiries on transactions shown in bank statements (such as purpose of individual withdrawal / deposit transaction) and the details of income / expenditure record etc., and/or contact the patient, his / her family member(s) or related parties for clarification, provision of additional documentary proof / explanation and verification of information when necessary in order to assess and calculate the financial condition of patient’s household.
Deductible Allowance (Table 2) is provided when calculating the total value of disposable capital of patient and his/her core family members living together. The amount of deductible allowance depends on the patient’s household size. If the disposable capital of the patient’s household is below the deductible allowance, the amount of deductible will be capped at the disposable capital of the patient’s household. It is set with reference to the prevailing asset limit in assessing eligibilities for applications for the Waiting List of Public Rental Housing (PRH). The level of allowance will be regularly reviewed with reference to the PRH’s asset limit which is subject to annual review under an established mechanism.
Table 2 - Deductible Allowance (as at 1 April 2024)
| Number of Household Member(s) (including the Patient) |
Allowance to be deducted from Disposable Capital (HK Dollar)^ |
|---|---|
| 1 Person | $286,000 |
| 2 Persons | $387,000 |
| 3 Persons | $505,000 |
| 4 Persons | $590,000 |
| 5 Persons | $655,000 |
| 6 Persons | $709,000 |
| 7 Persons | $757,000 |
| 8 Persons | $792,000 |
| 9 Persons | $877,000 |
| 10 or more Persons | $945,000 |
Full assistance will be granted to the patient if his / her CSSA* status is valid during application submission and during the treatment period in which the self-financed drug is subsidized by the CCF. If patient's CSSA* is granted after the application has been approved, he / she should immediately approach the MSWs for financial re-assessment and the patient contribution would be calculated on pro-rata basis. Patient is still required to settle the outstanding patient contribution after re-assessment, while the over-paid amount would be refunded (if applicable).
| * | With effect from March 2017, the application procedures, eligibility and important points to note of CSSA recipients for the CCF Medical Assistance Programmes are also applicable for Level 0 Voucher Holders of the Residential Care Service Voucher (RCSV) Scheme for the Elderly. | |||||||||
| 1 | Legally recognised adoptive parents/children or illegitimate children with proof of parentage are also included. | |||||||||
| 2 | A dependent is defined as a person who is unmarried AND either (i) under 18 years old; or (ii) 18-25 years old receiving full-time education. | |||||||||
| 3 | Including patient who is separated, divorced, undergoing legal proceedings to divorce or widowed. | |||||||||
| 4 | For example, MSWs may exclude a core household member from the financial assessment if he/ she leaves the home temporarily and stays oversea for study/ working holiday etc. | |||||||||
| 5 | Not applicable to applications with negative annual household disposable income (i.e. allowable deductions during the period is larger than the annual household gross income). | |||||||||
| 6 | If the patient and his/her core family members remains unemployed for 3 or more consecutive months before application / within validity period with documentary proof, annual income will be considered as nil. For core family members in the application, in addition to being unemployed for 3 or more consecutive months before the application / within validity period and supported with documentary proof, his/her annual income will be regarded as nil if he/she will likely remain unemployed for the coming year due to health / social reason (e.g. chronic illness, retirement). | |||||||||
| 7 | Including The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited Annuity Plan and the other annuity products operated by private sectors. The one-off lump-sum or instalment premium payment placed under annuity scheme would not be counted as asset. | |||||||||
| 8 | For the school fees in tertiary education programmes (in Hong Kong), the net amount would be counted after deducted the Tuition fee grant amount under Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes (TSFS) or Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP) (if applicable) from the course fees. | |||||||||
| 9 | Payment has been ordered by Court and actually made for the maintenance of a spouse living separate and apart or a former spouse or a child, whichever is lower. | |||||||||
| 10 | ||||||||||
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Insurance type / Annuity Scheme |
ü Items to be counted as assets in the financial assessment |
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Life insurance |
ü Dividends (regardless of whether the policy would be cancelled due to mobilization) ü Other values that could be mobilized without leading to the cancellation of the policy |
|
Investment-linked insurance |
ü Policy value (regardless of whether the policy would be cancelled due to mobilization) ü Other values that could be mobilized without leading to the cancellation of the policy |
|
Annuity scheme |
ü Dividends (regardless of whether the scheme would be cancelled due to mobilization) ü Other values that could be mobilized without leading to the cancellation of the scheme |
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Subject to documents submitted by the applicant |
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Patient’s Contribution to Drug Cost
Patient’s contribution is determined by the disposable financial resources and the estimated drug cost that is required to pay, with the latter being determined by multiplying the unit drug cost by the total units of drug consumption. Table 3 details the determination of patient’s contribution.
For First Phase Programme11, when the estimated cost of the applied drug is below the maximum contribution payable, patient is required to pay the drug cost and no assistance will be granted. When the estimated drug cost exceeds the maximum contribution payable, the CCF will pay the outstanding balance.
Under normal circumstances, the patient should settle the patient’s contribution before the utilization of the approved subsidies as far as possible. However, if the patient has special difficulties, he / she could approach the MSWs to apply for payment by instalment. The CCF might consider the request on a case-by-case basis12.
| 11 | For “Subsidy for Eligible Patients to Purchase Ultra-expensive Drugs (Including Those for Treating Uncommon Disorders) ”, the amount of patient contribution is capped at $1 million. |
| 12 | Instalment arrangement is not applicable to patient who agrees to pay for the maximum contribution amount (i.e. HK$1 million) so that he/she does not need to submit the documents required for financial assessment to the MSW for the application of the “Subsidy for Eligible Patients to Purchase Ultra-expensive Drugs (Including Those for Treating Uncommon Disorders)”. |
Table 3 - Sliding Scale
| (A) Annual Disposable Financial Resources (ADFR) (HK Dollar) |
(B) Contribution Ratio (%) |
(C) Maximum Contribution from Patient* (HK Dollar) (C) = (A) x (B) |
(D) ADFR after deducting Annual Contribution (HK Dollar) (D) = (A) - (C) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 - 20,000 | - | $0 | $0 - 20,000 |
| $20,001 - 40,000 | - | $1,000 | $19,001 - 39,000 |
| $40,001 - 60,000 # | - | $2,000 | $38,001 - 58,000 |
| $60,001 - 100,000 | 5 | $3,000 - 5,000 | $57,001 - 95,000 |
| $100,001 - 140,000 | 10 | $10,000 - 14,000 | $90,001 - 126,000 |
| $140,001 - 180,000 | 15 | $21,000 - 27,000 | $119,001 - 153,000 |
| $180,001 - 280,000 | 20 | $36,000 - 56,000 | $144,001 - 224,000 |
| $280,001 - 380,000 | 20 | $56,000 - 76,000 | $224,001 - 304,000 |
| $380,001 - 480,000 | 20 | $76,000 - 96,000 | $304,001 - 384,000 |
| $480,001 - 580,000 | 20 | $96,000 - 116,000 | $384,001 - 464,000 |
| $580,001 - 680,000 | 20 | $116,000 - 136,000 | $464,001 - 544,000 |
| $680,001 - 780,000 | 20 | $136,000 - 156,000 | $544,001 - 624,000 |
| $780,001 - 880,000 | 20 | $156,000 - 176,000 | $624,001 - 704,000 |
| $880,001 - 980,000 | 20 | $176,000 - 196,000 | $704,001 - 784,000 |
| $980,001 - 1,080,000 | 20 | $196,000 - 216,000 | $784,001 - 864,000 |
| ≥$1,080,001 | 20~ |
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| * | Only applicable to patient requiring drug treatment duration ≤ 1 year. For patient requiring drug treatment > 1 year (e.g. 13 months), the patient contribution would be calculated on a prorated basis to cover the whole drug treatment duration. |
| # | Fixed contribution amount is required from patients whose annual disposable financial resources are $60,000 or below, the formula calculating the applicant’s annual contribution in the above table is not applicable. |
| ~ | Capped at a flat contribution ratio of 20% (for First Phase Programme); OR Capped at a flat contribution ratio of 20% or $1 million (whichever is the lower) for "Subsidy for Eligible Patients to Purchase Ultra-expensive Drugs (Including Those for Treating Uncommon Disorders)"). |
Patient/applicant can view the videos on the HA’s website to have a brief understanding towards the application procedures (Video 1 (Cantonese only): ‘Knowing More About Medical Fee Assistance’) and the post-approval checking process (Video 2 (Cantonese only): ‘What you need to know about the post-approval checking process’) . To be eligible for CCF assistance, the patient / applicant must submit a formal application and fulfil all of the above eligibility criteria including passing the financial assessment conducted by MSWs. The HA Go has built a feature (“MFA App”) (HA Go - ‘Medical Fee Assistance’ Mobile Application Introduction) for patients to self-assess household’s financial eligibility preliminarily, view information and receive updates related to their CCF applications, and upload document for the financial assessment upon requests made by MSSU. In addition, when there are any changes in financial status of the patient’s household / CSSA status of the patient, the patient / the applicant can utilize the Means Test Calculator function under the MFA App or HA website to check his / her current eligibility. To enjoy the convenience and benefits, patients are encouraged to join the full membership of HA Go.
| (b) | Application for Implantable Medical Devices for Interventional Procedures |
The definition of “household”, first is to determine whether the patient is a dependent member of the household or not. A dependent is defined as a person who is unmarried AND either (i) under 18 years old; or (ii) 18-25 years old receiving full-time education. A patient who does not fulfill the above requirements is classified as a non-dependent patient. The following table lists out the definitions of household and core family member:
Patient Type |
Household and core family member definitions |
Dependent patient |
The patient, his/her parentsi/legal guardians, and dependentii siblings living under the same roof |
Non-dependent patient |
If marriediii – the patient, his/her spouse, and dependentii childreni (but not parents/legal guardians or siblings) living under the same roof |
When there is other family members who are living with the patient’s household and their basic necessity for living is maintained by patient’s household (e.g. the family member is an elderly who is dependent on patient’s household, or adult with no / low income and unable to sustain independent living; or individual unable to take care of oneself by reason of mental or physical condition, etc.), patient / applicant can include these dependent family members into the means test by providing their income and asset information, and they will be taken into account in the calculation of the Median Monthly Domestic Household Income (MMDHI) by Household Size.
MSW will have discretion to adjust the household size based on their professional judgment on a case-by-case basis in light of special familial factors or circumstances that warrant exceptional considerationiv.
The patient's household income includes the income of at least past 6 monthsv but not limited to salary, pension, regular financial contributions from relatives and / or friends not living together, income generated from the assets and / or properties of the patient and his / her core family members living together, other income / compensation received on a regular basis and the payout provided under the annuity schemevi. Financial assistance provided by the HKSAR Government (e.g. Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme, Working Family Allowance Scheme, Allowances under the Social Security Assistance (SSA) scheme such as Normal Disability Allowance, Higher Disability Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance, and Old Age Allowance) and subsidy from the assistance programmes of the Community Care Fund should not be taken into account as household income.
The patient's household assets include savings, investments in stocks and shares, insurancevii / annuity schemevii, valuable possessions, properties, lump-sum compensation and other liquidable assets (including those previously held or present owns assets) owned by patient and his / her core family members living together in the past 6 months (at least). The first flat (self-owned or rented) resided in together by the patient’s household and the tools of trade owned by the patient's household at the time of application are excluded from the calculation.
According to individual case merit, the MSWs may request for other documents, relevant documentary proof, and/or information on financial condition for more than past 6 months, and make enquiries on transactions shown in bank statements (such as purpose of individual withdrawal / deposit transaction) and the details of income / expenditure record etc., and/or contact the patient, his/ her family member(s) or related parties for clarification, provision of additional documentary proof / explanation and verification of information when necessary in order to assess and calculate the financial condition of patient’s household.
In assessing the financial condition of the patient, his / her monthly household income must first fulfill the income limit. MSWs would make reference to the Median Monthly Domestic Household Income (MMDHI) (Table 4) by Household Size based on the General Household Survey (GHS) conducted quarterly by the Census and Statistics Department. The patient’s monthly household income must not exceed 1.25 times of the MMDHI corresponding to his / her household size.
Table 4: Median Monthly Domestic Household Income (MMDHI) (as at 30 November 2024)
| Household Size | MMDHI (HK Dollar) (3rd Quarter 2024) |
1.25 times of MMDHI (HK Dollar) (3rd Quarter 2024) |
1 | $10,400 | $13,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $22,300 | $27,875 |
| 3 | $36,600 | $45,750 |
| 4 | $50,000 | $62,500 |
| 5 | $62,100 | $77,625 |
| 6 or above | $63,700 | $79,625 |
After having passed the income limit, if the patient’s household assets are equal to or less than two times of the estimated cost / deposit (if applicable) of the item concerned and do not exceed the “maximum allowable asset for granting full subsidy”viii corresponding to his / her household size (Table 5), he / she would generally receive full assistance from the CCF. If the patient’s household assets are equal to or less than two times of the estimated cost / deposit (if applicable) of the item concerned but exceed the “maximum allowable asset for granting full subsidy” corresponding to his / her household size (Table 5) OR his / her household assets are above two times but not more than three times of the estimated cost / deposit (if applicable) of the item concerned, he / she is required to contribute to the item cost at a fixed ratio of 25% of the patient’s household assets. For patient whose monthly household income is above 1.25 times of the MMDHI corresponding to his / her household size, OR the patient's household assets are above three times of the estimated cost / deposit (if applicable) of the item concerned, no CCF assistance would be provided normally. The extract of the financial assessment criteria of the Programme can be referred to Table 6.
Table 5: Maximum Allowable Asset for Granting Full Subsidy (as at 1 April 2024)
(Applicable to those applications with patient’s household assets that are equal to or less than two times of the cost of the item concerned)
| Number of Household Member(s) (including the Patient) |
Maximum Allowable Asset for Granting Full Subsidy ^ (HK Dollar) |
|---|---|
| 1 Person | $286,000 |
| 2 Persons | $387,000 |
| 3 Persons | $505,000 |
| 4 Persons | $590,000 |
| 5 Persons | $655,000 |
| 6 Persons | $709,000 |
| 7 Persons | $757,000 |
| 8 Persons | $792,000 |
| 9 Persons | $877,000 |
| 10 or more Persons | $945,000 |
Table 6: Financial Assessment Criteria
| Patient’s monthly household income | Patient’s household assets | Patient contribution Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equal to or less than 1.25 times of the MMDHI corresponding to his / her household size (Table 4) | AND | Equal to or less than two times of the cost of the item concerned and do not exceed the “maximum allowable asset for granting full subsidy” corresponding to his / her household size (Table 5) |
0% |
| AND | Equal to or less than two times of the cost of the item concerned but exceed the “maximum allowable asset for granting full subsidy” corresponding to his / her household size (Table 5) OR Above two times but not more than three times of the cost of the item concerned |
25% of patient’s household assets | |
| Above 1.25 times of the MMDHI corresponding to his / her household size (Table 4) | OR | Above three times of the cost of the item concerned | Patient is required to pay the total item cost |
However, apart from the above criteria, the CCF might consider any special social and financial factors / circumstances faced by the patient on a discretionary basis.
Full assistance will be granted to the patient if his / her CSSA* status is valid during application submission and during the treatment period of the medical procedure or when the patient acquires the implantable medical devices. If patient's CSSA* is granted after the fund application has been approved, he / she should immediately approach the MSWs for financial re-assessment.
Patient/applicant can view the videos on the HA’s website to have a brief understanding towards the application procedures (Video 1 (Cantonese only): ‘Knowing More About Medical Fee Assistance’) and the post-approval checking process (Video 2 (Cantonese only): ‘What you need to know about the post-approval checking process’) . To be eligible for CCF assistance, the patient / applicant must submit a formal application and fulfil all of the above eligibility criteria including passing the financial assessment conducted by MSWs. The HA Go has built a feature (“MFA App”) (HA Go - ‘Medical Fee Assistance’ Mobile Application Introduction) for patients to self-assess household’s financial eligibility preliminarily, view information and receive updates related to their CCF applications, and upload document for the financial assessment upon requests made by MSSU. In addition, when there are any changes in financial status of the patient’s household / CSSA status of the patient, the patient / the applicant can utilize the Means Test Calculator function under the MFA App or HA website to check his / her current eligibility. To enjoy the convenience and benefits, patients are encouraged to join the full membership of HA Go.
| * | The application procedures, eligibility and important points to note of CSSA recipients for CCF Medical Assistance Programmes are also applicable for Level 0 Voucher Holders of the Residential Care Service Voucher (RCSV) Scheme for the Elderly. | |||||||||
| i | Legally recognised adoptive parents/children or illegitimate children with proof of parentage are also included. | |||||||||
| ii | A dependent is defined as a person who is unmarried AND either (i) under 18 years old; or (ii) 18-25 years old receiving full-time education. | |||||||||
| iii | Including patient who is separated, divorced, undergoing legal proceedings to divorce or widowed. | |||||||||
| iv | For example, MSWs may exclude a core household member from the financial assessment if he/ she leaves the home temporarily and stays oversea for study/ working holiday etc. | |||||||||
| v | If the patient and his/her core family members remains unemployed for 3 or more consecutive months before application / within validity period with documentary proof, annual income will be considered as nil. | |||||||||
| vi | Including The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited Annuity Plan and the other annuity products operated by private sectors. The one-off lump-sum or instalment premium payment placed under annuity scheme would not be counted as asset. | |||||||||
| vii | ||||||||||
|
Insurance type / Annuity Scheme |
ü Items to be counted as assets in the financial assessment |
|
Life insurance |
ü Cash Value (regardless of whether the policy would be cancelled due to mobilization) ü Dividends (regardless of whether the policy would be cancelled due to mobilization) ü Other values that could be mobilized without leading to the cancellation of the policy |
|
Investment-linked insurance |
ü Policy value (regardless of whether the policy would be cancelled due to mobilization) ü Other values that could be mobilized without leading to the cancellation of the policy |
|
Annuity scheme |
ü Cash Value (regardless of whether the scheme would be cancelled due to mobilization) ü Dividends (regardless of whether the scheme would be cancelled due to mobilization) ü Other values that could be mobilized without leading to the cancellation of the scheme |
|
Subject to documents submitted by the applicant |
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| (c) | Important Points to Note |
Under normal circumstances, procedure or acquisition of medical devices should only commence or perform after approval is granted. Drug treatment should only commence after approval is granted. CCF financial assistance will not cover the cost for medical procedure or device / drug costs paid by patients prior to CCF approval, and those costs paid will not be regarded as paid Patient Contribution after approval either. It should be noted that CCF approval will not be dated back and NO REFUND will be made to patients or applicants for the medical procedure or devices / self-financed drugs purchased prior to the approval date, or the paid Patient Contribution during the approval period [except the patient has been granted CSSA after the approval date (if applicable)].
Patients whose applications have been approved by the CCF have to claim their CCF subsidy eligibility status at hospital Shroff when they settle payment and pay their contribution (if applicable).
HA may refuse to consider or reject any application if the declaration and / or the supporting data for assessment are not provided.
During the application process, MSWs will request patient / applicant to re-submit all up-to-date information if the supporting document(s) provided is not up-to-date, or the information submitted are required to be updated.
Provision of incomplete, inaccurate, not up-to-date or false information by way of declaration or supporting data may result in rejection of the application or the withdrawal of financial assistance (in whole or in part) if approved@ and / or criminal prosecution. Any paid financial assistance prior to withdrawal shall be recoverable by the CCF (through the HA) as a debt or otherwise repayable on demand and the patient / applicant should undertake to repay to the CCF (through the HA) the paid financial assistance.
| (a) | For non-drug items, approved application expired more than 6 months with no subsidy used |
| (b) | During the application process, change in patient’s clinical condition or other factors that make the clinical eligibility for funding application cannot be met |
| (c) | During the application process, change in patient’s clinical condition or other factors that result in change in the recommendation or recommended drug or dosage, etc. (under this circumstance, clinical department will create a new funding application to replace the cancelled application) |
| (d) | During the application process, the concerned drug / non-drug item becomes covered by standard fees and charges |
| (e) | During the application process, the concerned drug / non-drug item is to be repositioned from the coverage of the Community Care Fund (CCF) Medical Assistance Programmes to the Samaritan Fund (SF). Under this circumstance, the CCF application will be cancelled automatically and to be replaced by a new SF application. The application process will not be affected |
| (f) | During the application process or upon approval of funding subsidy, the funding subsidy is considered not required and the subsidy provided (if any) has been returned. |
If the financial / composition status of the patient’s household / CSSA status of the patient changes after the submission of the application or the provision of declaration, and before the medical procedure or prior to the purchase of relevant medical devices and during the treatment period of the funded self-financed drug, which would affect the patient’s eligibility for financial assistance under the CCF Medical Assistance Programmes, the patient must notify the HA immediately and provide all relevant information to MSWs for financial reassessment** as appropriate. Information includes but not limited to:
| (a) | Change of employment status (including being employed, self-employed, change of job / resigning etc.) |
| (b) | Change of income (actual monthly income / bonus / end of year payment / pension, or changes of amount to the aforementioned items etc.) |
| (c) | Change of sources of financial resources (e.g. maintenance paid / financial contribution from family and friends / monthly compensation / compensation received on a regular basis, or changes of amount to the aforementioned items etc.) |
| (d) | Change of family situation (e.g. change of number of family members living under the same roof, marital status etc.) |
| (e) | Change of assets (e.g. receipt of insurance compensation, changes of amount to bank accounts or other investment products etc.) |
Applicant can also utilize the Means Test Calculator (for First Phase Programme only) to preview his / her eligibility resulting from the above changes.
The HA may withdraw and/or vary the terms and conditions of any financial assistance (in whole or in part) in the event of any such change. The patient’s failure to notify the HA of his / her change of financial status / household composition / CSSA status may result in rejection of the application or withdrawal of approved financial assistance (in whole or in part) and / or criminal prosecution. Any paid financial assistance prior to withdrawal shall be recoverable by the CCF (through the HA) as a debt or otherwise repayable on demand and the patient / applicant should undertake to repay to the CCF (through the HA) the paid financial assistance.
The HA has a Post Approval Checking Mechanism in place, which regularly conducts checks on the approved applications. If there is overpayment of subsidies caused by calculation, assessment or administrative errors, the patient is required to refund the overpaid amount to the CCF (through the HA) immediately and, if necessary, adjust or forfeit the amount that may be payable.
If patient / applicant disagrees with the application result / the result of the Post-Approval Check, he / she has to lodge an appeal within four weeks after received the notification of the application / checking result by HA / the issue date of notification letter of application / checking result (if applicable). Related enquiries can be made to the Patient Relations Officer of the concerned hospital.
When you provide Personal Data to the HA in relation to your application, please make sure that such data is accurate and complete; failure to provide accurate / complete information may affect your application. Please refer to “Notice to Client” prepared for the CCF Medical Assistance Programmes on collection and transfer of personal data before providing your personal data to the HA.
| @ | Including the MSWs’ discretionary consideration on the special social and financial factors / circumstances which was based on the declaration or supporting data provided by patient household / applicant at the time of application, maybe withdrawn due to provision of incomplete, inaccurate, not up-to-date or false information of patient’s household / applicant. |
| ** | In general, financial re-assessment will be based on the eligibility criteria adopted under the original application. |
| (d) | Means Test Calculator
|