Financial Assessment

Enhancement Measures of Means Test Mechanism

Following the Public Healthcare Fees and Charges Reform, the enhancement measures of the means test mechanism of the Samaritan Fund is effective from 1 January 2026.

For details of the Enhanced Medical Fee Assistance Measures, please refer to these links below

[Details] [Leaflet] [Mean Test Calculator (Simplified version)]

(a) Application for One-Off Non-drug Items
(b) Application for Drug Items / Non-one-off Non-drug Items
(c) Important Points to Note
(d) Means Test Calculator

(a) Application for One-off Non-drug Items

All applications are to be assessed on a household basis, taking into account the income and 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 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 If unmarried – the patient would be treated as a single person household (irrespective of whether parents/legal guardians or siblings are 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 income limit by Household Size.

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 consideration^iv.

The patient's household income includes the actual income received in at least past 6 months^v, not limited to salary, pension, regular 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, the monthly payout provided under the annuity scheme^vi and insurance policy (regardless of whether the monthly payout could be withdrawn). 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 are excluded from the calculation of income.

The patient's household assets include savings, investments in stocks and shares, insurance^vii / annuity scheme^vii, 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 fulfil the income limit (Table 1). MSWs would make reference to the Median Monthly Domestic Household Income (excluding foreign domestic helpers) (MMDHI) 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 the MMDHI corresponding to his / her household size (For household size ≥ 2) or 150% of the MMDHI (For 1-person household).

Table 1: Income Limit (as at 28 February 2026)^

Household Size	Income Limit (HK Dollar)
1	$15,150
2	$23,400
3	$40,000
4	$52,600
5 or more	$55,000

^ The figures are subject to quarterly review according to MMDHI. Reference:HA Internet website for Samaritan Fund http://www.ha.org.hk

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 one-off item concerned, he / she would generally receive full assistance from the SF. If the patient’s 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 based on the sliding scale (Table 2). For patient whose monthly household income is above the income limit 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 SF assistance would be provided normally. However, apart from the above criteria, the SF might consider any special social and financial factors / circumstances faced by the patient on a discretionary basis.

Table 2: Sliding Scale

Household assets with reference to the cost of the one-off item concerned	Percentage of partial contribution to the cost of the one-off item concerned
Above 2 times to below 2.25 times	55%
From 2.25 to below 2.5 times	65%
From 2.5 to below 2.75 times	75%
From 2.75 to below 3 times	85%
Equal to 3 times	90%

Full assistance will be granted to the patient if his / her CSSA* status is valid during application submission and at the time when the medical procedure is performed or when the patient acquires the privately purchased one-off non-drug items. If patient's CSSA* has been 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 SF 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 SF 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.

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.

(b) Application for Drug Items / Non-one-off Non-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 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 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 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 If unmarried – the patient would be treated as a single person household (irrespective of whether parents/legal guardians or siblings are 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.

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 consideration⁴.

Annual disposable financial resources are taken as the 80% of 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 SF or CCF Medical Assistance Programmes drug application approved in previous 18 months), only 60% of his/ her annual household disposable income would be included in the calculation ⁵.

Household gross income includes actual income received in at least past 6 months ⁶, not limited to salary, pension, regular 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, the monthly payout provided under the annuity scheme⁷ and insurance policy (regardless of whether the monthly payout could be withdrawn). 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 are excluded from the calculation of income.

Allowable deductions include expenditures from the property occupied by the patient’s household (i.e. rental or mortgage payment, rates, Government rents, property management fee, the total deduction of these items are capped at one-half of the household gross income), child care expenses, provident fund contribution, school fee of dependent children (up to age of 25) who are receiving full-time tertiary education programmes (in Hong Kong)⁸ or below (other expenses, such as school activity fees, board & lodging fees, will not be counted as the allowable deductible item), maintenance paid⁹ for the past 6 months and personal allowances (Table 3) for the patient and his/her core family members living together. The salary taxes and medical expenses at public hospitals / clinics (other than the self-paid payment made for drugs / items under this application, except for recurrent applicant with approved drug application in previous 18 months) of the last 12 months are also included.

Table 3: Personal Allowances (as at 3 March 2026)

Number of Household Member(s) (including the Patient)	Total Personal Allowances ^ (HK Dollar)
1 Person	$7,740
2 Persons	$12,680
3 Persons	$18,620
4 Persons	$23,860
5 Persons	$32,680
6 Persons	$35,980
7 or more Persons	$39,350

^ The figures are adjusted every year in line with the Consumer Price Index A, and every five years in line with the latest Household Expenditure Survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department.

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 MSW 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 4) 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 4: Deductible Allowance (as at 1 April 2026)

Number of Household Member(s) (including the Patient)	Allowance to be deducted from Disposable Capital ^ (HK Dollar)
1 Person	$295,000
2 Persons	$400,000
3 Persons	$521,000
4 Persons	$608,000
5 Persons	$675,000
6 Persons	$731,000
7 Persons	$781,000
8 Persons	$816,000
9 Persons	$904,000
10 or more Persons	$974,000

^ The figures are subject to annual review.

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 / item is subsidized by SF. If patient's CSSA* is granted after the application has been approved, he / she should immediately approach the MSWs for financial reassessment and the patient contribution would be calculated on pro-rata basis. Patient is still required to settle the outstanding patient contribution after reassessment, 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 SF 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.
²A 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 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

Insurance type / Annuity Scheme	ü Items to be counted as assets in the financial assessment
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
Subject to documents submitted by the applicant.

Patient's Contribution to Drug / Item Cost

Patient's contribution is determined by the disposable financial resources and the estimated drug / item cost required to pay, with the latter being determined by multiplying the unit cost by the total units of item / treatment / drug consumption. Table 5 details the determination of patient's contribution.

Except for the application for specific ultra-expensive drugs, when the estimated cost of the applied drug / item is below the maximum contribution payable, patient is required to pay the drug / item cost and no assistance will be granted. When the estimated drug / item cost exceeds the maximum contribution payable, the SF will pay the outstanding balance.

The patient should settle the patient’s contribution before the utilization of the approved subsidies. However, for application of drug subsidy, if the patient has special difficulties, he / she could approach the MSW to apply for payment by instalment. The SF might consider the request on a case-by-case basis¹¹.

¹¹ 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 specific ultra-expensive drugs.

Table 5 : 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 - 56,202.50	-	$0	$0 - 56,202.50
$56,202.51 - 112,405.00	-	$1,000	$55,202.51 - 111,405.00
$112,405.01 - 168,607.50	-	$2,000	$110,405.01 - 166,607.50
$168,607.51 - 224,810.00	5	$8,430 - 11,241	$160,177.51 - 213,569.00
$224,810.01 - 281,012.50	10	$22,481 - 28,101	$202,329.01 - 252,911.50
$281,012.51 - 337,215.00	15	$42,152 - 50,582	$238,860.51 - 286,633.00
≥ $337,215.01	20 ^~	as calculated

* Only applicable to patient requiring drug treatment duration ≤ 1 year and non-one-off non-drug item. 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.

~ Capped at a flat contribution ratio of 20%; OR
Capped at a flat contribution ratio of 20% or $1 million (whichever is the lower) (only for specific ultra-expensive drugs).

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 SF 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 SF 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.

(c) Important Points to Note

The SF is designed for patients in need. Patients / applicants and household members must provide complete, accurate, up-to-date and true information to the HA / Social Welfare Department.

The SF, if granted, only supports the purchase of essential medical appliance and model which can meet the basic medical needs of the patients.

Under normal circumstances, medical procedure, acquisition of medical items, and drug treatment should only be acquired or commence after approval is granted. SF financial assistance will not cover the cost for medical procedure / items / drug paid by patients prior to approval, and those costs paid will not be regarded as paid Patient Contribution after approval either. It should be noted that approval will not be dated back and NO REFUND will be made to patients or applicants for the medical procedure or relevant appliance / equipment / self-financed drugs purchased or paid 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 SF have to claim their SF 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 HA as a debt or otherwise repayable on demand and the patient / applicant should undertake to repay to the HA the paid financial assistance.

Applications may be cancelled under certain circumstances:

(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 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 appliance / equipment and during the treatment period of the funded self-financed drug / item, which would affect the patient’s eligibility for financial assistance under the SF, the patient must notify the HA immediately and provide all relevant information to MSWs for financial re-assessment^** 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 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 HA as a debt or otherwise repayable on demand and the patient / applicant should undertake to repay to 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 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 SF 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