OYK warns naughty doctors.
1d ·
Doctors care for patients with a very high standard of professionalism and conduct, and will do what’s best for patients.
There is however a small fraction of doctors, where due to a lack of knowledge or otherwise, code their claims improperly. This results in higher than necessary drawdown on patients’ MediSave or MediShield Life claims.
Hence, in 2022,
Ministry of Health, Singapore established the Claims Management Office, to adjudicate such claims. As a result, from 2022 to 2024, improper claims have dropped by 55%. Our interventions have worked.
We have just announced our enforcement actions against ten doctors between January and October 2025 for making such non-compliant claims. These doctors will be required to undergo mandatory training on proper claiming practices and adherence to clinical guidelines.
Improper claims is one factor that contributes to rising hospital bills in the private sector. It is however not the key factor. We will need to tackle the insurance structure, which I have explained in a series of videos earlier. It will require the coordination and understanding of regulators, insurance industry, clinicians and also patients, but it is a correction that we need to make, to moderate the rapid increase in hospital bills and private insurance premiums.
