A Study On Take Home Examination Social Policy Essay

Besides, Dean outlined two conceptual models for public assistance rights, including doctrinal construct and claims-based construct. Doctrinal construct ‘ensured equal chance through the redistribution of chances, instead than results ‘ . Claims-based construct ‘demanded non simply formal equality of position, but the existent redistribution of resources ‘ . Furthermore, Dwyer ( 2004 ) pointed out there are four rules underpinning public assistance rights, including universalism, selectivism, contributory/social insurance rule and conditionality.  A cosmopolitan rule of public assistance services provide to all citizens on an equal footing.

Every citizen enjoys entree to the same set of societal rights.

Welfare services based on selectivism are limited to certain specified persons or groups normally by the application of a means trial. Contributory/social insurance rule normally entails employees holding National Insurance ( NI ) parts deducted from their net incomes in the paid labor market ( PLM ) . Conditionality is dependent on an single first holding to run into peculiar compulsory responsibilities or forms of behavior. Harmonizing to the Hospital Authority ( 2008 ) , the policy of medical service in Hong Kong is that ‘no one will be denied equal medical attention due to miss of agencies ‘ .

This policy patterns the construct of public assistance rights that everyone has the equal chance to hold the medical service even the 1 who lives in poorness.

Under the universalism rule, all citizens can acquire the Ambulance Services ( 2003 ) on the equal footing, including Emergency Ambulance Service ( EAS ) and Non-Emergency Ambulance Transfer Service ( NEATS ) . ESA is ‘provided for individuals whose conditions require immediate pre-hospital intervention and transportation to a infirmary for prompt medical attending ‘ .

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The NEATS is ‘provided for patients who require conveyance service to / from medical establishment ‘ . Besides, all citizens can travel to the local public infirmaries and establishments and acquire the medical service on the equal footing, including Accident & A ; Emergency ( A & A ; E ) Services, Specialist Clinics, In-patient and Out-patient Services. However, citizens need to pay for those services. The A & A ; E Services, Specialist Clinics and the In-patient Services cost $ 100 per clip, and the Out-patient Services cost $ 45 per clip.

The A & A ; E Services demand to be charged because the Government hopes people will non misapply the services. However, the hapless patients who are non the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ( CSSA ) receivers may be excluded. Although the CSSA receivers can be remitted the charge, it is unjust for the hapless patients who are non CSSA receivers and have the exigency illnesses, particularly the seniors who rely on their ain salvaging merely. Besides, the Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme ( HCVS ) ( 2008 ) in the 2008-09 fiscal twelvemonth for three old ages to supply ‘five wellness attention verifiers of $ 50 each to seniors aged 70 or above yearly to partly subsidize their usage of private primary health care ( PHC ) services ‘ .

Selectivism Principle

Under the selectivism rule, because of the medical fee relinquishing mechanism, CSSA receivers and the vulnerable groups are waived from payment of public wellness attention disbursals when they meet certain fiscal and societal standards. Besides, there are three types of people who are non CSSA receivers, besides can relinquish from payment of public wellness attention disbursals, including low-income group, the aged patients with small income or assets and people with chronic unwellnesss.

Contributory/Social Insurance Principle

Under the contributory/social insurance rule, in the Consultation Document on Healthcare Reform ( 2008 ) , the Government suggests six different proposals to supply auxiliary funding for health care, including societal wellness insurance, out-of-pocket payments ( user fees ) , medical nest eggs histories, voluntary private wellness insurance, compulsory private wellness insurance and personal health care modesty. Although there is no mainstream consensus has yet been reached in the community on the debut of auxiliary funding and the option to be adopted, the Government can analyse the pros and cons of the six different proposals, particularly the societal values they represent, including the equity of entree to healthcare, pooling and sharing of health care hazard, re-distribution of wealth and fiscal stableness and sustainability in order to protect all citizens ‘ wellbeing.

Conditionality Principle

Under the conditionality rule, there is the Samaritan Fund managed by the Hospital Authority in order to supply fiscal aid to destitute patients who requires designated Privately Purchase Medical Items or new engineerings in the class of medical intervention which are non covered in hospital care or out-patient audience fees in public infirmaries and clinics.

Decision

The study of Strategic Service Plan 2009-2012 from the Hospital Authority ( 2009 ) named ‘Helping Peoples Stay Healthy ‘ . It shows that the entire population of Hong Kong will increase from 7 million to around 7.5 million in 2016. Presently at around 870,000 and stand foring 12.6 % of the population, people aged 65 and above will increase by 30 % to 1.13 million in 2016. Besides, people are populating longer than of all time. Our life anticipations will farther increase to 86.3 and 80.6 old ages severally in 2016. Therefore, it is recognized that people require more healthcare services in old age. For illustration, the Government will better community attention for aged and inveterate sick patients and empower patients on self-care.

I hope that the Government can go on supplying the cosmopolitan medical services and the just system that payments are pegged with affordability and all occupants have equal chances to medical services. Besides, the Government should guarantee patients ‘ right of pick in public and private medical services. Besides, the occupants ‘ wellbeing should be alerted when get downing the Healthcare Reform in the hereafter. Social wellness insurance is to guarantee that every occupant can obtain appropriate medical services as its coverage is cosmopolitan and the medical outgo is paid by parts from all, including the healthy and the sick, the wealthy and the hapless in order to portion wellness hazards.

Question 4: The Concept of Welfare Mix

Powell ( 2007 ) stated the assorted economic system of public assistance ( MEW ) or welfare pluralism ( WP ) is a critical, but comparatively, portion of societal policy. In the descriptive sense, Beresford and Croft ( 1983 ) pointed out that there are four constituents of MEW. The normative sense suggested a alteration to the mix such as ‘rolling back the province ‘ . Besides, Rose and Shiratori ( 1986 ) argued that ‘total public assistance ‘ is the amount of province, market, voluntary and informal beginnings. Furthermore, Mishra ( 1990, pp. 110-114 ) claimed that a focal point on ‘total public assistance ‘ is non merely the ‘sum of parts ‘ . The constituents ‘ can non merely be regarded as functionally equivalents ‘

Powell pointed out the normative usage of MEW showed that different public assistance political orientations favour different public assistance mixes. The political left affected the function of the province becomes larger in public assistance as merely the province can guarantee that public assistance benefits and services are reasonably distributed to all citizens. If there were a big function for the commercial, voluntary and informal sectors, inequality would be appeared. In a descriptive sense, harmonizing to Lewis ( 1995, p. 3 ) , it is more accurate to see Britain as ever holding had a assorted economic system of public assistance, in which the volunteer sector, the household and the market have played different parts at different times.

On the other manus, Richard Titmuss developed the societal division of public assistance in a talk in 1956. After that, Titmuss ( 1958 ) pointed out that public assistance was delivered by financial and occupational mechanisms in add-on to the more familiar ‘social services ‘ . First, statutory public assistance refers to publically provided goods and services. Second, occupational public assistance is related to people ‘s businesss and besides termed fringe benefits or corporate public assistance. Third, financial public assistance refers to costs or benefits delivered through the revenue enhancement system.

Using the Concept of Welfare Mix in the Retirement Protection in Hong Kong

In the State Welfare, The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority ( MPFA ) ( 2006 ) pointed out that Hong Kong has a quickly ageing population. In 2004, the proportion of the population over the age of 65 was about 12 % , but by 2033 this is projected to lift to 27 % . The figure of working age grownups for each individual over 65 will drop from around six now to shut to two by 2033. This means the working population will hold a larger figure of retired persons to back up in the hereafter. Get downing from the 1960s, the argument for a suited retirement protection system in Hong Kong has gone on.

Three different systems, including in private managed provident financess, a cardinal provident fund and a pay-as-you-go type of benefit system were proposed. In 1994, the World Bank published the study ‘Averting the Old-Age Crisis: Policies to Protect the Old and Promote Growth ‘ , in which a three-pillar attack to protection for the elderly was put frontward. The three pillars included a publically managed, tax-financed societal safety cyberspace ; a mandatary, in private managed, to the full funded part strategy and voluntary personal nest eggs and insurance. The MPF System in Hong Kong was designed to organize the 2nd pillar of this attack for retirement protection. The Compulsory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance ( MPFSO ) was enacted in 1995 and the MPF System was launched in December 2000.

For both employees and employers will besides be required to lend 5 % of the employees ‘ relevant income to the MPF strategy. The MPF strategy was designed by the Government ( State Welfare ) who has the high ordinance that the MPFA applies a figure of enforcement steps against non-compliant employers who are found to hold evaded payment of MPF parts, deducted employer parts from an employee ‘s wage or non inscribe their employees in any MPF strategies. At the same clip, different Bankss or insurance companies ( Market Welfare ) take the function of proviso that helps the employees to make up one’s mind on their ain investing portfolios.

However, there are some restrictions of the MPF strategy. First, the domestic employees, freelance peddlers, homemakers and other people who are non in the labour market can non fall in the MPF strategy in order to acquire the retirement protection. Second, there is the direct proportion between the retirement protection and the income from the employees, so the redistribution of public assistance can non be appeared and the low-income people ‘s retirement protection will be damaged. Third, the employers can countervail rupture payment ( “ SP ” ) and long service payment ( “ LSP ” ) as required under the Employment Ordinance ( “ EO ” ) by the accumulated benefits derived from parts you have made to the employee in the MPF strategy, so the employees who are in occupation insecurity can non acquire the adequate retirement protection.

Because of the restrictions of the MPF strategy, citizens need to protect personal support of retirement through other methods. For illustration, people can acquire the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ( CSSA ) provided by the Social Welfare Department ( SWD ) under the State Welfare, merchandises of retirement planning provided by Bankss or insurance companies under the Market Welfare, the exigency alleviation fund, chronic unwellnesss relief fund or nutrient bank operated by the non-governmental organisations ( NGOs ) under the voluntary public assistance and household support or personal economy under the informal public assistance.

Decision and Suggestion

Under the Policy Address in 1997, ‘A Sense of Security, A Sense of Belonging and A Feeling of Worthiness for the Elderly ‘ is the chief policy of aged attention. However, it seems that the MPF strategy and other retirement protections can non wholly make the policy of ‘A Sense of Security ‘ . The Joint Alliance for Universal Retirement Protection ( 2004 ) is an confederation that aims to contend for the cosmopolitan retirement protection. I agree with the rules of the confederation in which every aged should hold the human rights ( e.g. the right to life, lodging right and medical right ) and be prevented poorness. At the same clip, the current protection of all societal category of the aged provided by the Government will non be damaged even get downing the new retirement protection. I hope that there will hold the cosmopolitan retirement protection in the hereafter in order to protect all citizens ‘ wellbeing when confronting the ripening of population in Hong Kong.

Mentions

• Senior Citizen Home Safety Association. ( 2009, 2009 ) . About The PE Link Service. Retrieved 2009-12-12, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.schsa.org.hk/eng/service/pel.html
• Hospital Authority. ( 2008, 2008-9 ) . Waiving Mechanism of Public Hospitals ( Information Leaflet ) . Retrieved 2009-12-12, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ha.org.hk/visitor/ha_visitor_index.asp? Parent_ID=349 & A ; Content_ID=122630 & A ; Dimension=100 & A ; Lang=ENG
• Hospital Authority. ( 2009, 2009 ) . Strategic Service Plan 2009-2012. Retrieved 2009-12-12, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ha.org.hk/visitor/ha_visitor_index.asp? Parent_ID=100 & A ; Content_ID=138773 & A ; Dimension=100 & A ; Lang=ENG
• Compulsory Provident Fund Schemes Authority. ( 2006, 2006 ) . About the MPF System: Background. Retrieved 2009-12-12, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mpfa.org.hk/english/abt_mpfs/abt_mpfs_bgd/abt_mpfs_bgd.html
• Beresford, P. , & A ; Croft, S. ( 1983 ) . Welfare pluralism: the new face of Fabianism. Critical Social Policy, 3 ( 9 ) , 19.
• Food and Health Bureau. ( 2008, 2008-3 ) . Consultation Document on Healthcare Reform. Retrieved 2009-12-12, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.fhb.gov.hk/beStrong/files/consultation/exsummary_eng.pdf
• Fire Services Department. ( 2003, 2009-10-15 ) . Ambulance Services in Hong Kong. Retrieved 2009-12-12, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hkfsd.gov.hk/home/eng/source/safety/Ambulance_Services_in_HK.pdf
• Dwyer, P. ( 2004 ) . Understanding societal citizenship: subjects and positions for policy and pattern: Policy Press.
• Lewis, J. ( 1995 ) . The voluntary sector, the province and societal work in Britain: Elgar.
• Mishra, R. ( 1990 ) . The public assistance province in capitalist society: policies of retrenchment and care in Europe, North America and Australia: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
• Powell, M. ( 2007 ) . Understanding the assorted economic system of public assistance: Policy Pr.
• Joint Alliance for Universal Retirement Protection. ( 2004, 2009 ) . Introduction of the Alliance. Retrieved 2009-12-12, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.pensionforall.org.hk/html/intro.php
• Rose, R. , Shiratori, R. , Allardt, E. , & A ; Sogo, K. ( 1986 ) . The public assistance province E and West: Oxford University Press.
• Titmuss, R. ( 1958 ) . Essays on’the Welfare State ” Printed Resource. London: Allen & A ; Unwin, 1958.
• Health Care Voucher. ( 2008, 2009-11-27 ) . Health Care Voucher. Retrieved 2009-12-12, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hcv.gov.hk/eng/pub_background.htm