The Hospital Authority will implement a refund mechanism on obstetric package charges paid by non-local women. The authority's board today endorsed recommendations to provide non-locals, fulfilling certain criteria, refunds in certain circumstances.

Members noted that in the half-year review following the implementation of various measures to address the increase in demand for obstetric services, there has been a significant drop in the number of deliveries by non-local women in public hospitals.

A no-refund policy was originally implemented to minimise abuse of the obstetric booking system by non-local women, and ensure locals are given priority to use obstetric services in public hospitals.

Authority Chief Executive Shane Solomon said: "While ensuring adequate capacity and priority for local mothers in using public hospital services, the authority can now respond to requests from non-local mothers asking for exceptional consideration of refund based on special circumstances."

Special circumstances

The special circumstances can be grouped into two categories - the occurrence of miscarriage, termination of pregnancy and stillbirth in non-HA hospitals; and, on a change from Non-Eligible Person to Eligible Person status between payment of the package fee and delivery.

A partial refund of $20,000 will be made for justified cases fulfilling the criteria in the first category which reflects the average cost of childbirth which is not utilised. The authority will retain the remaining $19,000 from the original fee to maintain the built-in disincentive, and for the set up, logistics and cost of additional infrastructure, manpower, for capacity reservation and administration of the booking arrangement.

Pregnant women with a change of eligibility status will be fully refunded for the obstetric package charges after deducting fees for non-locals in whatever public hospital services they received before the change.

The refund under these circumstances will not be an entitlement but subject to an application and approval process, while a retrospective refund covering the period from February 1 onwards will be available for non-locals under the defined situations.

The refund policy will be gazetted for public information and implementation in late October.