Singapore Budget 2019 and Healthcare Spend: A Speedoc Perspective

The Budget 2019 has just been announced. All eyes were on Minister Heng Swee Keat’s speech, which set the government’s spending agenda for the year.As more Singaporeans enter their senior years, healthcare needs will grow. Major changes have been made in healthcare to make it more affordable, accessible, and comprehensive.

Budget 2019 highlighted the following:

? Significant Government subsidies for public healthcare

? Subsidies for healthcare insurance (MediShield Life and CareShield Life)

? 5-year MediSave top-ups of $100 per year for eligible seniors, from 2019 to 2023

? Government assistance for long-term care (Elderfund)

There is no doubt that Singapore has a robust healthcare system that is cost-effective and provides its people with a high standard of care. Healthcare has always been one of the top expenditures for the country, with spending of over $10 billion per year over the past two years. Resources have been allocated to building the country’s healthcare infrastructure, with new hospitals like Sengkang General and Community Hospitals opened last year, on top of five new hospitals that have been launched since 2010.

Within the next five years, there will be six more general and community hospitals, four new polyclinics and more nursing homes and elderly care centres across the country. The Ministry of Health is also investing in technology and creating an additional 30,000 jobs to cope with the increased manpower demand for medical services.

The government has also been reinforcing the country’s medical safety net to support lower- and middle-income Singaporeans through subsidies and programmes like Community Health Assistance Scheme, MediShield Life and MediSave.

Special attention continues to be given to Singapore’s growing ageing population. In 2018, the number of Singaporeans aged 65 and over matched the number of young who are under 15 for the first time.

The Ministry of Finance has already disbursed over $310 million in MediSave top-ups to the elderly, which ranges from $200 to $1,250 per person. This year, more details of a healthcare package for the Medeka Generation - the population who came of age during Singapore’s independence - is expected to be provided during the budget.

Healthcare for the elderly can be socially and culturally tricky to navigate. Although those over the age of 65 are more susceptible to falling ill and are more likely to be admitted to a hospital compared to a younger person, the older generation tends to have a cultural aversion towards hospitals. Many consider it unlucky to have to seek treatment at a hospital, even if they are aware that they require medical attention. They may also get offended if their children or relatives urge them to visit a doctor. “Once I go in, I won’t come out alive,” or “Hospitals are full of dying people,” are common comments that an elderly person might give for avoiding hospitalisation. Plus, the elderly tend to be at particular risk of hospital-acquired infections.

Even in Singapore, where the quality of care is very high across the board, there are still tradeoffs between private and public healthcare. Those who visit a private doctor or institution will generally have to pay higher medical fees. Those who choose public healthcare will typically receive subsidised fees but often have to deal with longer waiting times before they to see a doctor.

Ultimately, while there are some choices available to patients, all healthcare institutions and companies (including us at Speedoc) have a duty to ensure healthcare is affordable, accessible and timely, especially to those who need it most. By offering 24/7 on-demand house calls via a few taps on our app, we aim to offer accessible and timely medical services. Speedoc’s range of primary, urgent and preventive care services allow more people to skip long waiting lines in clinics and hospitals. House calls are also a good option for those with mobility issues or patients who simply prefer not to go to a hospital for personal reasons. Finally, we also include clear, upfront pricing as well as details of the doctor that a patient is matched with, to ensure full transparency and honesty in all that we do.