2024 EDB NET Scheme Questions

[James A.]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

[mtkl]

Not to mention, a lot of people here get 'cancer insurance' meaning they are not insured against anything except for cancer itself. That's b/c the public system here does not pay for cancer treatment, and it's expensive, so you'll have to pay for it yourself. Consider getting cancer insurance (but you can only get it if you are youngish, healthy, and have never had cancer..).....

Never knew that. Are there other things that they don't cover?

[PLamHK]

That's b/c the public system here does not pay for cancer treatment, and it's expensive, so you'll have to pay for it yourself.

This is an absurd and totally inaccurate statement, I have 2 close friends who have been treated in the HK public system for cancer (a women for breast cancer and a man for bowel cancer). The treatment was prompt and effective (at least in the sense of sending the cancer into remission - I don't think cancer is ever cured as such), and essentially free. They are still living full lives.

[PokfooLamin]

Yes, there is a lot that is not covered that is covered by Western systems and also covered faster. One example would be certain types of sports injuries. I remember I dislocated my clavicle back in 2008 with no private health insurance. The doctors refused to operate. Then I was given a physical therapy app't (one only) approx 3 weeks into the future.// Each system has its own rules, timelines, and priorities. But I now realise that we are next to Shenzhen and Dongguan which have GOOD private hospitals that do everything from knee surgery to skin grafting to ....you name it. It's better than Thailand.

[PLamHK]

Yes, there is a lot that is not covered that is covered by Western systems and also covered faster. One example would be certain types of sports injuries. I remember I dislocated my clavicle back in 2008 with no private health insurance. The doctors refused to operate. Then I was given a physical therapy app't (one only) approx 3 weeks into the future.// Each system has its own rules, timelines, and priorities. But I now realise that we are next to Shenzhen and Dongguan which have GOOD private hospitals that do everything from knee surgery to skin grafting to ....you name it. It's better than Thailand.

We're way off topic, but for an anterior clavicle dislocation non-surgical physical therapy seems to be the recommended treatment in many cases, depending on the severity of damage to surrounding ligaments. Granted 3 weeks is perhaps a bit long to wait, but otherwise that response was probably appropriate. The difference between a public health system and a private one is that the public one will generally opt for the easiest/cheapest effective treatment whereas a private system will go for the one that will bring the most profit. The main downside to most public systems is that for conditions where time is not of the essence (i.e. you're not going to get much worse if the treatment is delayed for a bit, even if in constant low-level pain/discomfort/inconvenience) then the delays to treatment can be annoying.