Financial Difficulties Due to Childbirth or Delivery

4 FEB 2013

QUESTION NO. 391

Name of Person: Mr Zainal Sapari

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Health (a) over the last three years, how many parents faced financial difficulties in paying for (i) childbirth charges in the B1, B2 and C wards in local hospitals; (ii) delivery charges of their fourth and subsequent child due to complications experienced during birth; and (b) what options are there for parents who face these problems, especially for those with insufficient Medisave amounts or those who have reached the withdrawal limit of their Medisave Delivery and Medisave Maternity Package.

ANSWER

1        Over the past three years, our public hospitals have extended assistance to an average of 1,000 delivery cases per year in Class B1, Class B2 and Class C wards, of which around 95 cases per year involved mothers who experienced complications delivering their fourth or subsequent child.

2        These cases that received additional subsidies accounted for around 8% of the total number of deliveries involving Singaporeans and Permanent Residents performed at our public hospitals.  In addition, patients were also assisted through other arrangements, such as installment plans, to help them manage the cost of their deliveries. 

3        Patients who require financial assistance can approach the medical social workers in our public hospitals.