Hong Kong lawmakers have called for clearer information on medical fee waivers under the revamped public healthcare subsidy regime while pushing for more evening clinic quotas amid rising emergency charges.

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Monday that the reform announced last month would also optimise the medical fee waiver mechanism to provide greater protection for low-income residents.

“Eligible low-income residents who can receive partial or full medical fee reduction will triple from the current 300,000 to 1.4 million,” he said at the Legislative Council’s health services panel.

But lawmaker Kitson Yang Wing-kit said many elderly people were unclear about whether they would be included in the safety net under the new policy.

He urged the government to explain the terms of eligibility more simply to residents, such as by comparing them with the criteria of existing living allowances.

“They are having trouble understanding the situation, even if we show them the mechanism,” he said.