Admin Overheads and Resource Allocation

19 January 2015

Question No. 376

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Tin Pei Ling
MP for Marine Parade GRC

Question:

To ask the Minister for Health in respect of increased expenditure in the public healthcare sector over the last five years (a) what percentage has been spent on (i) direct clinical services and (ii) administrative overheads respectively; and (b) how does the Ministry ensure equity of resource allocation among the various institutions.

Answer:

1                       The bulk of the expenditure in the public healthcare sector goes directly to medical and patient services.  About 15-20% of the public hospitals and institutions’ expenditures are attributable to administrative functions, such as corporate services, human resource, finance, and IT.  This is similar to other countries such as England, Canada and the Netherlands, and is lower than the United States which is reported to spend at least 25% of hospital costs on administration.

2                       We are mindful of the need for our public healthcare institutions to keep administrative costs low and deliver healthcare services efficiently.  This will help ensure that healthcare remains affordable and sustainable in the long term.

3                       Ms Tin also asked about the allocation of resources among the institutions.  The Ministry subvents the public healthcare institutions with block budgets.  This is determined based on several factors, including workload, type of services provided, and the complexity of the medical conditions each institution has to manage.  The block budget for each institution is reviewed regularly to take into account advancements in medical care, inflation, as well as the institution’s workload and patient profile.

4                       We will continue to refine the resource allocation to ensure that our public healthcare providers deliver services efficiently and achieve good health outcomes for Singaporeans.