Patients choosing private healthcare could see more of the likely cost before treatment under rules proposed by the Health Bureau. Licensed private hospitals, day medical centres and clinics would have to publish bilingual price lists; hospitals would also give estimates before admission for specified treatments and procedures. The bureau submitted its proposals to the Legislative Council on October 15, 2026.
The lists would cover every chargeable item, describe the service and give a fixed price or a price range. Providers would have to flag services whose costs depend on individual circumstances. Before providing a service, a provider would also have to give the patient or their representative a fixed price or price range. For specified treatments and procedures, providers would also say whether ward, operating-room or procedure-room fees, and doctors’ or dentists’ fees, are charged separately from the listed price.
Price lists would be available during business hours at reception and payment counters, admission registration points and nurses’ stations. Providers planning to change prices would have to publish the revised list at least seven days before the new prices took effect and notify the Department of Health.
A licensed private hospital would have to give patients an estimate before admission for a specified treatment or procedure. If admission was scheduled less than 12 hours in advance, the hospital could withhold the estimate but would have to explain why it could not provide one. Where an estimate gave a fixed amount, the hospital would have to provide a written explanation, on paper or electronically, if the final charge was at least 20% higher.
Hospitals would also regularly publish statistics for specified treatments and procedures, including annual discharges, median inpatient stay and actual charge ranges. The government proposes to display hospitals’ figures, including annual changes in charges, on a dedicated website using charts and plain language, giving patients a way to compare reported costs and stays.
A voluntary pilot already provides private-hospital patients with price lists and estimates for 30 common treatments, i-CABLE reported.
The government plans to submit regulations to the Legislative Council and draw up a code of practice by the end of 2026. The measures could begin in phases: private hospitals from August 2027 at the earliest, day medical centres from November 2027, and clinics from mid-2028.