Samaritan Fund 2026: what it subsidises, how the means test works and how to apply
The Samaritan Fund subsidises patients who meet specific clinical criteria and pass a means test for self-financed drugs and ‘privately purchased medical items’ outside the standard charges of public hospitals, and applications are handled by medical social workers. For drug subsidies, the patient's contribution is calculated on the household's ‘annual disposable financial resources’, capped at 20% of them a year; the calculation method was relaxed from 1 January 2026.
How do I apply?
Patients and their families can 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).
Apply through the hospital's medical social worker: the Fund has been managed by the Hospital Authority since 1 December 1991, and patients and their families in financial difficulty receive financial assistance on the recommendation of a medical social worker (Samaritan Fund report, year ended 31 March 2025).
The medical social worker processes the application after receiving the doctor's referral and the information or documents the patient submits, and urgent cases are processed faster; patients start to receive the subsidy only after the application is approved, and for cardiology medical items covered by the Fund, in urgent cases where the means test cannot be completed before the operation, the Hospital Authority makes special arrangements when necessary (Government reply to the Legislative Council, January 2019).
For the documents needed and how long it is expected to take, ask the hospital's medical social worker.
What does the Samaritan Fund subsidise?
The Samaritan Fund was set up in 1950 by a resolution of the Legislative Council to give 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 needed in their treatment but not covered by the standard charges of public hospitals and clinics (Social Welfare Department, August 2023).
Patients in financial difficulty can be subsidised through the safety net for self-financed drugs and devices (including the Samaritan Fund) to buy ‘privately purchased medical items’ or specified self-financed drugs in the Hospital Authority Drug Formulary (Government paper to the Legislative Council, April 2025).
The Hospital Authority has added 53 drugs and devices to the scope of subsidy under the Samaritan Fund safety net (Chief Executive's 2026 Policy Address, September 2026).
Whether a particular drug or medical item is subsidised, the documents needed and eligibility can be checked with the treating doctor or the hospital's medical social worker.
| Item of expenditure (year ended 31 March 2025) | Expenditure |
|---|---|
| Drugs | HK$1,096,311,907 |
| Consumables for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and interventional cardiology | HK$168,516,294 |
| Other subsidised items | Including implantable cardioverter defibrillators, cardiac pacemakers and orthopaedic appliances |
Does the Samaritan Fund subsidise coronary angioplasty (‘balloon’ procedures)?
The Samaritan Fund's expenditure includes the related consumables: expenditure on ‘consumables for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and interventional cardiology’ was HK$168,516,294 (Samaritan Fund report, year ended 31 March 2025).
Speaking in the Legislative Council on 25 March 2026 about widening the scope of subsidy for self-financed drugs and devices, the Secretary for Health gave the example of a patient needing coronary angioplasty (‘tung bo jai’) who would have received no subsidy under the previous criteria but could receive a subsidy of HK$72,000 under the new criteria; the Secretary did not say which subsidy scheme the example belonged to.
‘Tung bo jai’ is the colloquial name for percutaneous coronary intervention (Chief Executive's 2026 Policy Address, September 2026); our analysis: the ‘percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty’ referred to in the report is a procedure of this kind.
Whether the consumables an individual patient needs are subsidised can be checked with the treating doctor or the hospital's medical social worker.
How much does the patient have to contribute?
It is calculated on the household's financial situation: subsidy applications for drugs and non-one-off non-drug items are subject to a means test, the patient's contribution is set on a sliding scale according to the household's ‘annual disposable financial resources’, and the annual contribution is capped at 20% of the annual disposable financial resources (Government paper to the Legislative Council, April 2025).
From 1 January 2026, in calculating annual disposable financial resources, only 80% of household income is counted for new applicants (100% before the reform) and only 60% for continuing applicants (80% before the reform); assets are counted at 50% of disposable assets after deducting the allowable deduction (Government paper to the Legislative Council, May 2026; for the formula, see the Legislative Council paper of 14 April 2025).
The relaxation measures implemented from 1 January 2026 also include widening the sliding scale used to calculate patients' contributions, lowering the contributions for drugs used by patients covered by the safety net (Government paper to the Legislative Council, May 2026); the table below shows two drug subsidy cases set out in that paper.
In the first half of 2026, the amounts of Samaritan Fund subsidy approved for drug and non-drug items rose by about 22% and 10% respectively compared with the same period of 2025, to HK$1.28 billion and HK$220 million; there were about 4,500 approved drug subsidy cases involving non-Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients, of which about 1,070 saw the patient's drug contribution fall because of the relaxed eligibility (Hospital Authority, July 2026).
| Case (Legislative Council paper of 8 May 2026, Annex 3) | Before relaxation | After the 2026 relaxation |
|---|---|---|
| Kidney disease patient, three-person household | Application approved in 2025: contribution ratio 20%, contribution about HK$52,600 a year | Reapplication approved in 2026: contribution ratio 5%, contribution about HK$9,800 a year |
| Lung cancer patient, two-person household | If calculated by the method before relaxation: contribution ratio 20%, contribution about HK$36,400 a year | New application approved in 2026: contribution ratio 5%, contribution about HK$9,000 a year |
How are one-off non-drug items means-tested?
By an income limit: from 1 January 2026 the income limit for one-person households applying for subsidy for one-off non-drug items was relaxed from the median monthly domestic household income to 150% of the median (Government paper to the Legislative Council, May 2026).
A case of a one-person household with coronary heart disease set out in the same paper: the patient's income was below the relaxed income limit and the household's assets were less than twice the estimated cost / deposit of the one-off item needed, and the patient received a full subsidy; before the relaxation, the patient would generally not have been subsidised because the income exceeded the income limit. This is an individual case; for the general criteria of the asset test, ask a medical social worker.
Which household members are counted in the means test?
It depends on whether the patient is a dependant and whether the patient is married: for a patient who is a dependant, the patient, parents / legal guardians living with the patient and brothers and sisters who are dependants are counted; for a married patient who is not a dependant, the patient, the spouse living with the patient and children who are dependants are counted; an unmarried patient who is not a dependant is treated as a one-person household (Government press release annex, Measures to enhance healthcare protection, March 2025).
The definition of ‘household’ for medical fee waivers has been aligned with that of the safety net for self-financed drugs and devices (Government press release annex, Measures to enhance healthcare protection, March 2025); for medical fee waiver applications, see Applying for a medical fee waiver.
How does the Samaritan Fund relate to the annual charge cap and the Community Care Fund?
The annual charge cap does not include self-financed drugs and devices: the Hospital Authority's annual charge cap of HK$10,000 per patient is counted by calendar year and applies to all public charges for Eligible Persons, but excludes self-financed drugs and devices and inpatient charges in special wards (Government paper to the Legislative Council, April 2025); for details of the cap, see Public healthcare fees and charges reform 2026.
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, and operates under the Samaritan Fund's mechanism (Social Welfare Department, August 2023); see Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes.
For the various kinds of support available to cancer patients, see Financial support for cancer patients in Hong Kong.
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible to apply to the Samaritan Fund?
The Samaritan Fund gives financial assistance to needy patients who meet specific clinical criteria and pass a means test (Social Welfare Department, August 2023); for the clinical criteria for a particular drug or item and other eligibility requirements, ask the treating doctor or the hospital's medical social worker.
What is the most I would have to pay myself each year under the Samaritan Fund?
The patient's contribution for drugs and non-one-off non-drug items is capped each year at 20% of the household's ‘annual disposable financial resources’ (Government paper to the Legislative Council, April 2025).
Can the Samaritan Fund subsidise costs retrospectively?
Generally not: patients start to receive the subsidy only after the application is approved; for cardiology medical items covered by the Fund, in urgent cases where the means test cannot be completed before the operation, the Hospital Authority makes special arrangements when necessary (Government reply to the Legislative Council, January 2019).