Financial support for cancer patients in Hong Kong 2026: public hospital drug charges, the Samaritan Fund, the Community Care Fund, fee waivers and Disability Allowance
At the Hospital Authority, cancer drugs in the general category, or in the special category under specific clinical indications, are charged at standard fees (from 1 January 2026, HK$20 per drug item at specialist outpatient clinics, charged in units of 4 weeks); for self-financed cancer drugs, patients can apply for subsidy through the Samaritan Fund or the Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes, subject to a means test. Disability Allowance depends on whether the person is certified as severely disabled.
Who should I raise this with first?
A first step is to ask the treating doctor or a nurse for a referral to a medical social worker: patients and their families can also apply for medical social services directly to the medical social services unit stationed at a public hospital or specialist clinic, and health care staff at the hospital or clinic, other government departments or welfare agencies can refer a case as well (Social Welfare Department, August 2023).
Medical social workers provide counselling on the emotional, family and caregiving problems that illness, injury or disability brings, help patients plan their discharge, and provide financial or material assistance, for example medical fee waivers, applications for fund subsidies, and referrals for patients and their families to apply for social security allowances (Social Welfare Department, May 2023).
How are cancer drugs charged in public hospitals?
It depends on the drug category: cancer drugs in the Hospital Authority Drug Formulary are divided into general drugs, special drugs, self-financed drugs covered by the safety net and self-financed drugs not covered by the safety net; eligible patients prescribed safety-net drugs can be subsidised through the Samaritan Fund and / or the Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes (Government reply to the Legislative Council, June 2026).
The Hospital Authority Drug Formulary covers 169 drugs for treating different cancers, half of which are already in the general or special drug categories and prescribed at standard fees (Government reply to the Legislative Council, June 2026).
From 1 January 2026, Eligible Persons pay HK$20 per prescribed drug item at specialist outpatient clinics, charged in units of 4 weeks (self-financed drugs excluded).
In April 2026 the Hospital Authority moved dasatinib, a leukaemia drug, from a self-financed drug to a special drug, provided at standard fees to patients meeting specific clinical conditions, and patients' drug costs fell from about HK$20,000–40,000 a month to HK$20 per four weeks (Government reply to the Legislative Council, June 2026).
| Drug category (Hospital Authority Drug Formulary) | Charge or subsidy |
|---|---|
| General drugs, and special drugs under specific clinical indications | Prescribed at standard fees; HK$20 per drug item for Eligible Persons at specialist outpatient clinics, charged in units of 4 weeks (from 1 January 2026) |
| Self-financed drugs covered by the safety net | Eligible patients can be subsidised through the Samaritan Fund and / or the Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes |
| Self-financed drugs not covered by the safety net | Self-financed drugs, outside the scope of safety-net subsidy |
What subsidies are there for self-financed cancer drugs?
Mainly the Samaritan Fund and the Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes: the Samaritan Fund gives financial assistance to needy patients who meet specific clinical criteria and pass a means test, to pay for ‘privately purchased medical items’ or new technologies not covered by the standard charges of public hospitals and clinics (Social Welfare Department, August 2023).
From 1 January 2026 the Samaritan Fund relaxed its means test: only 80% of income is counted for new applicants and only 60% for continuing applicants, and the sliding scale for patients' contributions was widened (Government paper to the Legislative Council, May 2026); the annual contribution cap for drug subsidies is 20% of the household's annual disposable financial resources (Government paper to the Legislative Council, April 2025).
A case of a lung cancer patient in a two-person household: calculated by the method before relaxation, the contribution would have been about HK$36,400 a year (contribution ratio 20%); after a new application was approved in 2026, it was about HK$9,000, a contribution ratio of 5% (Government paper to the Legislative Council, May 2026); this is an individual case and does not represent other households' contributions.
The first-phase programme of the Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes subsidises specific self-financed cancer drugs not yet included in the Samaritan Fund safety net but rapidly accumulating medical evidence, and covers 17 drugs from the end of January 2026 (Government paper to the Legislative Council, April 2026).
In 2025-26 the Samaritan Fund and the Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes approved a total of 4,865 subsidies involving lung, breast, colorectal, prostate and liver cancer, amounting to about HK$1.22 billion, of which 1,912 were for lung cancer (Government reply to the Legislative Council, June 2026).
For the means test and how to apply, see Samaritan Fund and Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes.
How can medical fee waivers and the charge cap help cancer patients?
They can reduce spending on the standard-charge part: from 1 January 2026, the income and asset limits for medical fee waivers were relaxed; for eligibility and where to apply, see Applying for a medical fee waiver.
The HK$10,000 annual charge cap is counted by calendar year and has no means test, and once approved there is no need to pay again for eligible medical services in that year, but the cap excludes self-financed drugs and devices and inpatient charges in special wards (Government reply to the Legislative Council, April 2026; Government paper to the Legislative Council, April 2025); see Public healthcare fees and charges reform 2026.
Do Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients pay to see a doctor?
Recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance can receive medical services free of charge at public clinics or hospitals in Hong Kong (including Accident and Emergency Departments), by stating that they are recipients and showing the identity document used in their application when seeking treatment or on admission (Social Welfare Department, Guide to Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, August 2026).
Applicants for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance must be Hong Kong residents meeting the residence requirement (for example having been a Hong Kong resident for at least one year) and must pass an asset and income test, and those living with family members must apply as a household (Social Welfare Department, Guide to Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, August 2026); for applications and assistance amounts, ask the Social Welfare Department.
Can cancer patients apply for Disability Allowance?
It depends on whether the person is certified as ‘severely disabled’: applicants for Normal Disability Allowance must be certified by the Director of Health or the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority as severely disabled, with the severe disability likely to last for not less than six months; there is no means test for Disability Allowance (Social Welfare Department, Social Security Allowance Scheme leaflet, August 2026).
‘Severely disabled’ must be certified as a specified situation, for example being long-term bedridden because of disease, injury or deformity, or having another physical or mental condition with a degree of disability broadly equivalent to the specified situations and being in great need of help from others to cope with daily life; Higher Disability Allowance additionally requires certification that the person needs constant attendance from others in daily life and is not receiving residential care in a government-subvented institution or a Hospital Authority public hospital or institution (Social Welfare Department, Social Security Allowance Scheme leaflet, August 2026).
Social Security Allowance applicants must have been Hong Kong residents for at least 7 years and have resided in Hong Kong continuously for at least 1 year immediately before the date of application; Hong Kong residents under 18 applying for Disability Allowance can be exempted; people receiving Social Security Allowance cannot receive Comprehensive Social Security Assistance at the same time (Social Welfare Department, Social Security Allowance Scheme eligibility web page, July 2026).
For applications and allowance amounts, ask the Social Welfare Department.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay for cancer drugs at a public hospital?
It depends on the drug category: half of the 169 cancer drugs in the Hospital Authority Drug Formulary are already in the general or special drug categories and prescribed at standard fees; self-financed drugs must be paid for by the patient, and for self-financed drugs covered by the safety net, eligible patients can be subsidised through the Samaritan Fund and / or the Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes (Government reply to the Legislative Council, June 2026).
What financial support can cancer patients apply for?
Financial support includes the Samaritan Fund, the Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes, medical fee waivers and the annual charge cap; Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients receive medical services free of charge at public clinics or hospitals (information published by the Government and the Social Welfare Department).
Can every cancer patient receive Disability Allowance?
Not necessarily: Normal Disability Allowance requires certification by the Director of Health or the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority that the person is severely disabled, with the severe disability likely to last for not less than six months (Social Welfare Department, Social Security Allowance Scheme leaflet, August 2026).