Legislator and Chinese medicine professor Chan Wing-kwong on Tuesday welcomed reports that the voluntary health insurance scheme will be extended to cover services at the city's first Chinese medicine hospital, saying it would be a significant step by the government to further recognise traditional Chinese medicine.

The nine-storey hospital in Tseung Kwan O is due to open next year.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, Chan said both Chinese and Western medicine hospitals should be treated equally by insurance companies.

"As a hospital - whether it specialises in Chinese medicine or Western medicine - the cost of services is essentially the same. From hospital beds to nursing care and other essential services, the cost is comparable. Therefore, insurance companies should expand their coverage to include these healthcare services," he said.

Speaking on the same programme, lawmaker Chan Pui-leung, who is the general manager of China Taiping Insurance Company, said the industry needs to know more about what kind of medical services the new hospital will provide and how much it will charge before deciding on insurance premiums.

"By then, we will have more data to consider how to calculate premiums in the future if we want to extend the voluntary health insurance to cover traditional Chinese medicine services at the hospital," he said.