The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced on the 19th that seven medical institutions located in mainland cities in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area will be included in the "Elderly Medical Vouchers Greater Bay Area Pilot Plan". It is expected that these institutions will gradually carry out relevant arrangements starting from the third quarter of 2024, benefiting nearly 1.7 million eligible Hong Kong seniors. During a press conference held on the same day, the Secretary for Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Lu Chongmao, stated that the Chief Executive announced in his 2023 Policy Address the expansion of the application scope of elderly medical vouchers to suitable medical institutions in the Greater Bay Area. Since then, the Health Bureau and the Department of Health have been actively promoting related work and seeking the opinions and recommendations of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission. Lu Chongmao stated that when incorporating medical institutions in the Greater Bay Area into the "pilot plan", the SAR government mainly considers eight factors, including the geographical location of the pilot medical institutions, service quality, management and operational experience, service scope, and whether they have advantageous services. It is understood that the medical institutions included in the plan include 5 comprehensive service medical institutions and 2 dental medical institutions, located in Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Dongguan, and Shenzhen, respectively. Along with the existing University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Hospital and the Huawei Lai Chi Court Community Health Service Center, eligible Hong Kong seniors can use medical vouchers in a total of 9 medical institutions in the Greater Bay Area in the future. Lu Chongmao emphasized that the selection of 7 medical institutions has been carefully planned, aiming to achieve full coverage of the Pearl River Delta and take care of Hong Kong elderly living in mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. It is reported that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government launched the Elderly Medical Voucher Scheme in 2009, which currently subsidizes a medical voucher of HKD 2000 per year for each eligible Hong Kong elderly person aged 65 and above (with a cumulative limit of HKD 8000), allowing them to choose the most suitable private primary healthcare services in their respective communities. (Lai Xin She)