http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/01/30-jump-in-class-c-hospital-bills-since.html
Saturday, January 08, 2011
30% jump in Class C hospital bills since 2006.
In an earlier posting, I pointed out that the Medisave Minimum Sum has been raised at an annual rate of roughly 7%[earlier posting here] - that translate to a rise of about 30% for 4 years. When I posted that, I speculated that the increase may be linked to rising cost of medical care in Singapore and this is a concern because it is rising much faster than wages. Based on the figures released by the MOH, class C bills have increased 30% in 4 years. If you look at the average bill across all ward classes and hospitals we see a jump of more than 50%. The bills at a few of the hospitals have doubled. Look at the table below:
Minister Khaw had this to say about the massive increase in medical cost:
When Minister Khaw had a heart attack and needed surgery, he paid $8. Many poor people will pay much more than $8 when they get hospitalized. In our system, the richest in our society like Minister Khaw pay less than the poorer members because they can afford better insurance i.e. the less financially well-off have to shoulder heavier burdens when they get sick. Minister Khaw should make the medical coverage he has universal for all Singaporeans. We already have the biggest income gap among developed countries and our healthcare system further exacerbates the inequality in our society.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
30% jump in Class C hospital bills since 2006.
"The Ministry of Health (MOH) puts this down to multiple factors - including a greater number of more ill and older patients, and patients asking for non-subsidised drugs and implants." - Straits Times 8 Jan 2011.
Is the MOH blaming the rising cost on the old and sick? Didn't the govt implement means testing that would have caused the hospital bills to escalate? Didn't the govt plan to make Singapore a medical hub for rich foreigners causing a strain on our resources and cost to spiral up?
In an earlier posting, I pointed out that the Medisave Minimum Sum has been raised at an annual rate of roughly 7%[earlier posting here] - that translate to a rise of about 30% for 4 years. When I posted that, I speculated that the increase may be linked to rising cost of medical care in Singapore and this is a concern because it is rising much faster than wages. Based on the figures released by the MOH, class C bills have increased 30% in 4 years. If you look at the average bill across all ward classes and hospitals we see a jump of more than 50%. The bills at a few of the hospitals have doubled. Look at the table below:
Minister Khaw had this to say about the massive increase in medical cost:
"The bottom line : We have good high-standard public hospitals that are affordable because of the 3Ms" - Minister Khaw
Affordable? In the same sense as Minister Mah when he said housing is still affordable after prices jumped by 60% in 2 years? As for the 3Ms, it is full of holes. Many self-employed individuals don't have Medisave, hundreds of thousands are not insured[Link] and for you to get Medi-fund you have to exhaust all your savings, live in a home and have kw enough income to pass the criteria for receiving Medifund. It is more dangerous for Minister Khaw to say that medical care is affordable than for Minister Mah to say that HDB flats is affordable. For HDB flats, everyone knows the truth but for medical care many don't know what is going on until they get seriously ill ....then it is too late. There many holes and gaps that people can fall through. Take Medishield, many people are still on Basic Medishield. Basic Medisheld has limited payout for hospitalization/surgery that is now insufficient for the 'catastrophic illnesses' it is designed for because hospitalization cost has escalated. In 2005, Enhanced Medishield was introduced. However, many people developed various pre-existing conditions or are not aware and didn't upgrade to the new insurance. The word "enhanced" is actually misleading because it gives people the impression that it is unnecessary. It is essential for you to move to Enhanced Medishield because Basic Medishield is inadequate and will expose you to great financial risk. In fact Basic Medishield no longer offered to new insurance applicants. Please double check your Medishield policy to make sure you're on Enhance Medishield. Even Enhance Medishield has cracks you can fall through. Under Enhance Medishield there is co-payment amount that you have to exceed before Enhance Medishield will pay you. You may think that paying a few thousand from your pocket is okay, however, many patients, especially those with early cancer, found out the hard way that certain illnesses require many short hospital stays and you end up paying more than a few tens of thousands. To fix this you need to purchase a rider to cover the co-payment amount - which is another crack in the scheme that people are not aware of.
When Minister Khaw had a heart attack and needed surgery, he paid $8. Many poor people will pay much more than $8 when they get hospitalized. In our system, the richest in our society like Minister Khaw pay less than the poorer members because they can afford better insurance i.e. the less financially well-off have to shoulder heavier burdens when they get sick. Minister Khaw should make the medical coverage he has universal for all Singaporeans. We already have the biggest income gap among developed countries and our healthcare system further exacerbates the inequality in our society.
