Costs of COVID-19 Treatment

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1734
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 24 FEBRUARY 2023

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Yip Hon Weng
MP for Yio Chu Kang SMC

Question No. 4252

To ask the Minister for Health in view of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce’s announcement on 9 February 2023 (a) with subsidies, how much is the average Singaporean expected to pay for COVID-19 treatment; (b) whether general practitioners are free to set their own treatment fees for mild COVID-19 symptoms; and (c) whether the Ministry will make publicly available the subsidised and unsubsidised costs of COVID-19 treatments.

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1734
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 24 FEBRUARY 2023

Question No. 4253

To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether patients who have been diagnosed with long COVID prior to the implementation of the new COVID-19 financing arrangements in April 2023 will continue to be covered under the current provisions; and (b) for patients who require admission into the intensive care unit for severe COVID-19 or need prolonged treatment for long COVID, what additional subsidies, aside from Government subsidies, MediSave, MediShield Life, MediFund, and CareShield Life, will be available.

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1742
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 24 FEBRUARY 2023

Question No. 4261

To ask the Minister for Health in view of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce’s announcement on 9 February 2023 that COVID-19 treatments will no longer be fully subsidised, what are the measures taken to encourage the public, especially the elderly, to continue seeking timely medical attention.

Answer

1       We are able to transit to Dorscon Green because of the strong resilience built up through hybrid immunity of vaccinations and safe recovery from COVID-19.  This means we are no longer treating COVID-19 as a special category of disease, with special clinical protocols and subsidies.  

2       Hence, like all diseases, doctors will treat COVID-19 patients based on their clinical assessment and severity of illness.  This means they will also charge treatment fees similar to other acute respiratory diseases, which is currently about $20-$35 for subsidised patients at the polyclinics.  Patients with lasting symptoms (i.e. long COVID-19) will be cared for and supported in the same way as patients experiencing lingering effects of other respiratory diseases.  All patients with infectious diseases, COVID-19 or otherwise, will be encouraged to seek treatment promptly and exercise social responsibility.

3       It is noteworthy that after three years of the pandemic, the vast majority of COVID-19 patients experience mild symptoms and are not expected to require a hospital admission. 

4       For the minority that require an inpatient admission, they will be supported by our S+3M framework, i.e. subsidies, MediShield Life, MediSave and MediFund. 

5       The member asked what other assistance are available that is beyond S+3M.  The fact is S+3M is already designed to fully cover the bills for patients with financial difficulties.  To illustrate, for a patient who is admitted to a C class ward for COVID-19, the median co-payment after subsidies and MediShield Life is about $700, which patients can pay for using their MediSave.  For those who are unable to use MediSave and have difficulty with cash payment, there is MediFund to help.  The same applies to ICU stay, which is very rare for COVID-19 patients now.