Type of Medical Insurance: VHIS & General Medical Insurance
Bowtie collected traditional medical insurances from 5 major insurance companies in Hong Kong, and compared them with Bowtie VHIS Standard and Flexi Regular / Plus to help you find the most suitable protection.
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular / Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* | |
| Issue Age | 15 days – age 80👍 | 15 days – age 70 or below | |
| Annual Tax Deduction | The maximum qualifying premiums for tax deduction is HK$8,000 per insured person👍 | NIL | |
| Guaranteed annual renewal | up to age 100 | Lifetime👍 | age 100 or Lifetime |
| Premiums for Reference^ | HK$146/ month👍 (market average: HK$227/ month*) | HK$257 – 459/ month | market average:*: HK$220/ month |
- ^Using an age 35 non-smoking male as an example
- *The above information is sourced from the 5 major medical insurance companies in Hong Kong, updated as of July 30, 2019, and is for reference only. For the details and terms of each plan, please consult the relevant insurance company.
6 things that VHIS is better than Traditional Medical Insurance
⏰Coverage for Unknown Pre-Existing Conditions
For “Unknown pre-existing conditions” the coverage under Bowtie VHIS Standard and Flexi Regular / Plus are as follow:
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* |
|
| X |
In the traditional medical insurance market, most insurance companies do not cover “pre-existing conditions” regardless of whether they were diagnosed before or after application.
But VHIS, on the other hand, is required to provide coverage for “unknown pre-existing conditions” with a “waiting period”, during which compensation ranges from 25% to 100%. The aim is to provide more people with medical coverage.
🔎Prescribed Diagnostic Imaging Tests
The coverage for diagnostic imaging, such as CT, MRI, and PET scans, under Bowtie VHIS Standard and VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus are as follow:
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* |
| HK$20k (with 30% co-insurance) | HK$26 – 40k (with 30% co-insurance)👍 | Usually no covered, individual policy provide HK$6k protection(only inpatient tests are eligible for compensation) |
You may have heard of the diagnostic imaging coverage provided by VHIS, which covers 70% of the cost of CT, MRI, PET scans, etc.
This coverage is actually quite rare on the market. Some companies state clearly in their terms and conditions that they do not provide coverage for the diagnostic imaging testing; while some make it very confusing on the policy terms and conditions.
Surely there are also a few plans that provide coverage for these types of tests, but with limitations such as requiring the test to be taken within 30 days before or after hospitalization.
💸Tax Deductions
Under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, taxpayers can claim tax deductions for the premiums paid for VHIS products of themselves or their designated family members. The maximum qualifying premiums for tax deduction is HK$8,000 per insured person per tax year.
Learn more on VHIS Tax Deduction
Regardless of any changes to the insured person’s health after the policy takes effect, VHIS guarantees annual renewal up to the age of at least 100, and the policy terms will not change. This means that the insurance companies cannot add any “exclusions” or increase premiums due to changes in the insured person‘s health.
Most traditional medical insurance on the market limit the issue age to 70, with only a few accepting applicants under 75 years old. However, VHIS aims to provide coverage to more people, so the issue age is set between 15 days and age 80.
VHIS is approved and certified by the Health Bureau. The policy terms are all transparent and could be found online on the VHIS official sites, which is different from traditional insurance products whose terms tend to be hidden, with lots of difficult slang, or terms & conditions.
Some Coverage Matches the Best Plan on the Market
👩🏻⚕️1. Attending doctor’s visit fee
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* |
| HK$960 – 2,000/day👍 | HK$550/ day (Up to 120 days per year) to HK$768/day (Up to 90 days per year) |
Generally, most medical insurance plans provide coverage on attending doctor’s visit fee from HK$550 to HK$768; while VHIS offers compensation of at least HK$750 per day, which is close to the best plan available on the market.
💊2. Cancer Treatment/ Outpatient kidney dialysis
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* | |
| Prescribed non-surgical cancer treatment | HK$80k – 160k/ year |
| |
| Outpatient kidney dialysis | X | HK$50k – 100k/ year |
|
Treating cancer requires more than just surgery. It also requires a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and other treatments.
“Non-surgical cancer treatment” coverage is not rare on the market, but many policies share the benefit limit for “non-surgical cancer treatment” with other treatments (including kidney dialysis), total benefit limit ranging from HK$80k to 81k per year.
But VHIS provides separate benefit limits to the 2 items, from HK$80k or more per year for prescribed non-surgical cancer treatment only; and 50k or more per year for outpatient kidney dialysis.
- * Some plans share the same benefit limit for "non-surgical cancer treatment" and "kidney dialysis".
3. 🤦🏻♀️Psychiatric treatments
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* |
| HK$30k – 37.5k/year 👍 | Not a benefit item for many plans out there, individual policy may provide HK$16k (up to 30 days) | |
Only a few basic medical insurance plans on the market provide coverage for “psychiatric treatment”, and some even explicitly list it as an “exclusion”. However, VHIS is required to provide coverage of HK$30,000 or more per year for “psychiatric treatment”, but hospitalization is necessary to claim this benefit.
4. 👶🏻Congenital Disease
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* |
| Not protected if it is discovered before age 8 | Not protected if it is discovered before age 8/ 16/ 17 | |
Most insurance companies decide whether to provide coverage for “congenital diseases” based on the age of onset.
For example, diseases that manifest or are diagnosed before the age of 16 or 17 are not eligible for protection. VHIS, on the other hand, is more lenient and only excludes congenital diseases that manifest or are diagnosed before the age of 8.
VHIS Flexi provides more advanced protection
1. 👴🏼Post-Confinement Daily Home Nursing
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* |
| X | HK$500 – 800／day（up to 180 days）👍 |
|
Many medical insurance plans provide coverage for “Post-Confinement Daily Home Nursing”, with daily compensation ranging from HK$300 to HK$370.
While VHIS Standard does not provide this coverage, many VHIS Flexi plans provide that. For example, Bowtie VHIS Flexi provides daily compensation of up to HK$500-800 (up to 180 days per policy year).
2. 🚑Accident and Emergency Outpatient Treatments
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* |
| X | HK$8,000/year👍 | HK$2,000 – HK$6,600/ treatment 或 HK$6,400 – HK$6,500/ year |
As for “Accident and Emergency Outpatient” coverage, most medical insurance plans provide coverage of around HK$6,400 to HK$6,500 per year.
Though VHIS Standard does not include this coverage, Flexi plans provide coverage of HK$8,000 per policy year for this item, which is close to what other medical insurance provides.
3. 🛌Hospital Companion Bed
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* |
| X | HK$350 – 800/ day | HK$200/ day (up to 120 days) – HK430/ day (up to 270 days) |
“Hospital Companion Bed” is also a popular coverage item among major insurance companies.
However, as it is not really an “essential” protection, VHIS Standard does not offer protection to the Insured. As for the Flexi Plan, like Bowtie VHIS Flexi provides coverage of HK$350-800 per day for this item.
Other Benefit Items
| Benefit Items | Benefit Limit | ||
| VHIS Standard | VHIS Flexi Regular/ Plus | Traditional Medical Insurance on the market* | |
| Room and board | HK$750/ day (up to 180 days) | HK$1,200 -2,300/ day👍 | HK$680/ day (up to 120 days) – HK$860/ day (up to 270 days) |
| Intensive care | HK$3,500/ day (up to 25 days) | HK$3,500 – 5,500/ day (up to 60 days)👍 |
|
| Miscellaneous Charges (annually) | HK$14,000 | HK$18,000 – 26,000 | HK$6,000 – HK$18,500👍 |
| Specialist’s fee(annually) | HK$4,300- 6,450👍 | HK$2,000 – HK$2,800 | |
| Pre- and post-Confinement/Day Case Procedure outpatient care | HK$580/ visit and HK$3,000/ year👍 | HK$900 – 1,300/ visit and HK$3,000/ year👍 |
|
In addition to the Flexi Plan, there are also plans commonly referred to as high-end VHIS on the market, such as the Bowtie Pink. These types of plans do not set specific benefit limits for individual items and can provide full coverage.
In summary, the purpose of VHIS is to provide basic medical coverage for more people.
The Health Bureau offers flexibility for insurance companies to add coverage that is not provided in the standard plans through the flexi plans. Of course, in the same company, premium of the flexi plans will be slightly higher than that of the standard plan.
After comparison, you should always choose the coverage you really need and be a savvy consumer.
