A VHIS certified plan provides standardised policy terms and conditions with minimum benefit coverage and benefit amounts, while other medical insurance products in the market are designed by individual insurance companies. Below are some key features of a certified plan:
- Guarantees renewal up to at least age 100
- Cooling-off period of 21 days
- Tax deduction for the premiums paid
- Coverage for unknown pre-existing conditions and congenital conditions diagnosed at or after age of 8
The Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS), certified by the Health Bureau, offers multiple protection and special features including：
- Premium transparency: You can access the premium schedules of all Certified Plans on the website of the insurance companies concerned and the official VHIS website.
- Guaranteed renewal: Most VHIS Flexi plans offer lifetime renewal options.
- Expanded medical coverage: Include Pre- and Post-confinement /Day Case Procedure Outpatient Care and day surgeries.
- Enhanced healthcare choices: Policyholders can access private hospitals and higher-tier medical services.
- Tax deduction: Eligible premiums can be claimed for tax return.
For VHIS Standard Plans, the terms and benefits are standardised with prescribed minimum requirements, such as minimum benefit coverage and amounts. For VHIS Flexi Plans, on top of the basic protection equivalent to that in Standard Plans, more flexible top-up protection such as higher benefit amounts and more benefit items are offered to suit market needs which is subject to certain rules set out by the Health Bureau.
Yes. Enrolment in a VHIS certified plan is entirely voluntary and will not affect your rights to use public healthcare services.
Standard Plan only covers hospitalisation and surgical expenses. However, some top-up protection of Flexi Plans may include outpatient services such as general practitioner’s consultation, specialist's consultations, laboratory tests, and prescribed medicines. Be sure to check whether optional outpatient coverage is included when choosing a plan.
Some VHIS plans or their optional benefits may cover Traditional Chinese Medicine consultations, acupuncture, physiotherapy, and other rehabilitative treatments. Always review the policy terms or consult your insurer for specific coverage details.
Yes, you can enrol in more than one VHIS certified plan policy based on your needs. You can also enrol for your dependants.
Although VHIS plans are certified by the Health Bureau and meet minimum coverage standards, not everyone is guaranteed acceptance. Insurance companies assess applications based on health status, age, and medical history etc., and may decline coverage.
Yes. It is your right as a policyholder to change the holder of your policy to the following persons:
(a) the insured person, if the insured person has reached age 18;
(b) the parent or guardian of the insured person, if the insured person is under age 18; or
(c) any person whose familial relationship with the insured person is accepted by Blue Cross according to our prevailing underwriting practices.
Please submit the "Request For Change Of Policyholder Form" for Blue Cross's handling if you want to change the holder of your policy.
Multiple policyholders are not allowed under the same VHIS policy and each policy can only cover one insured person.
Yes. As Blue Cross is registered as one of the VHIS providers, existing policyholders of indemnity hospital insurance plans underwritten by Blue Cross will be provided with one opportunity to migrate to our VHIS-certified plans. Invitation of migration with detailed arrangement (including the relevant underwriting arrangement) has been/ will be (as the case may be) sent to all eligible customers by written notification. For more details, please contact your insurance intermediary or our Customer Service Hotline.
Non-Hong Kong residents△ can enrol in a VHIS certified plan although they are not eligible for tax deduction. Eligibility for tax deduction is as follows:
a. The applicant must be a taxpayer;
b. The taxpayer who or whose spouse is the policyholder of a certified plan; and
c. The insured person▽ must be a Hong Kong resident
For more details of the eligibility for tax deduction, please contact the Inland Revenue Department.
△ Except for specific countries or regions
▽ Insured person includes the taxpayer himself/ herself or his/ her dependants
Taxpayer who or whose spouse is the policyholder of a policy issued under a Certified Plan of VHIS may claim tax deductions up to HK$8,000 per insured person for the premiums paid in relation to the Certified Plan in each assessment year. The insured person of the Certified Plan should be the taxpayer or any specified relatives, which cover the taxpayer's spouse and children, and the taxpayer's or his/her spouse's grandparents, parents and siblings.
Annual tax deduction ceiling is HK$8,000 per insured person for the premiums paid in relation to a VHIS certified plan, and there is no cap on the number of VHIS certified plan policy or insured person who are eligible for tax deduction. If you wish to apply for tax deduction as the policyholder of VHIS certified plan policies with other insured persons, these insured persons must be your dependants, who include your spouse/ child, your or your spouse's parent/ grandparent/ brother/ sister.
Example of Tax Deduction
Example 1: If you enrol in one VHIS certified plan policy
| Annual Premium for VHIS Certified Plan Policy (HK$) | Tax-deductible Amount (HK$) | Amount of Tax Saved (Assuming Tax Rate = 15%) (HK$) |
| 7,000 | 7,000 | 1,050 |
Example 2: If you are the policyholder and enrol in one certified plan policy for yourself and each of your following family members, you may save a total of HK$6,150 in tax.
| Insured Person | Annual Premium for VHIS Certified Plan Policy (HK$) | Tax-deductible Amount (HK$) | Amount of Tax Saved (Assuming Tax Rate = 15%) (HK$) |
| You | 10,000 | 8,000 | 1,200 |
| Spouse | 8,000 | 8,000 | 1,200 |
| Father | 30,000 | 8,000 | 1,200 |
| Mother | 20,000 | 8,000 | 1,200 |
| Son | 4,000 | 4,000 | 600 |
| Daughter | 5,000 | 5,000 | 750 |
| Total | 77,000 | 41,000 | 6,150 |
The date of premium payment determines the tax year for tax deduction, regardless of the payment mode. If you are paying monthly premium for example, the total premium qualified for tax deduction in a particular tax year would be the total monthly premium actually paid in the same tax year, with the tax-deductible amount up to HK$8,000 per insured person. For more details of the eligibility for tax deduction, please contact the Inland Revenue Department.
You may contact the following regulatory body:
- VHIS Office of the Health Bureau – for issues specific to the VHIS including product availability, features of certified plan and compliance with the Code of Practice for Insurance Companies under the Ambit of the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme;
- Insurance Authority – for issues concerning the general conduct of insurance companies and intermediaries;
- Inland Revenue Department – for issues concerning claims for tax deduction; and
- Insurance Complaints Bureau – for mediation and adjudication.
Policyholders and insurance companies are also encouraged to settle dispute by other means of mediation and arbitration as mutually agreed between both parties before a dispute is referred to a Hong Kong court.
