The Health Ministry is looking to reorganize the system of hospital care subsidies to benefit those that need financial help with their medical bills. This essentially means a switch from basing subsidies on an individual’s income to per capita household income (PCHI) by hospitals that provide acute care.
The change will mean higher subsidies for lower-income patients and lower subsidies for higher-income people. Community hospital subsidies now range from 20 to 75 per cent for citizens. The lowest subsidy rate will drop from 50 per cent to 30 per cent for people with PCHI above $6,500.
About 95 per cent of patients should benefit from the higher community hospital subsidies making the insurance system more equitable. The new system is expected to be in place by mid-2020.
This is an extract from the article originally published in The Strait Times. Please find the full piece here.
Image Credits: Alamy Stock Photo
Have anything to say about subsidized healthcare in Singapore? Please let us know in the comments section below.
