Regularisation of Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly

     The Government announced today (September 1) the regularisation of the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher (CCSV) for the Elderly. The Pilot Scheme will be renamed Community Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly (the Scheme) and new measures of the Scheme will be introduced.

     A spokesman of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said that in line with the policy objective of "ageing in place as the core, institutional care as back-up" in the provision of elderly services, the Scheme adopts a "money-follows-the-user" approach, allowing eligible elderly persons to choose suitable community care services that suit their individual needs. Under the principle of co-payment by CCSV holders and the Government, elderly persons with lower affordability could receive more government subsidy. At the end of July this year, a total of 7 377 elderly persons were receiving CCSV services. 

     New measures of the Scheme include:

(i) Increasing the number of beneficiaries of the Scheme from the existing 8 000 to 10 000 in 2023/24 and then to 12 000 in 2025/26 in response to the keen demand for community care services;

(ii) Expanding the applicable scope of the CCSV to the rental of assistive technology products to enhance the quality of life of the elderly persons and alleviate the pressure on their carers;

(iii) Allowing CCSV holders to purchase services from two recognised service providers at the same time, thus increasing the flexibility of using the CCSV; and

(iv) Launching the Voucher Information System for the Elderly (VISE), through which CCSV holders will be able to access real-time information on voucher usage, search recognised service providers, and download the monthly service timetable to facilitate their receiving of services in a timely manner.

     Elderly persons, their family members or carers wishing to participate in the Scheme can make use of the calculator set in the VISE to estimate their co-payment levels for reference. For more details, please visit the website of the VISE at vise.swd.gov.hk/vise/. 

     The SWD hopes that the new measures of the Scheme can attract more eligible elderly persons to use CCSV services and encourage more service providers to participate in the Scheme.   

     For more details of the Scheme, please refer to www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_elderly/sub_csselderly/id_psccsv/ or call the Community Care Service Voucher Office at 3107 3013.