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28 Feb 2011
Question No: 172
Question
Name of the Person: Ms Sylvia Lim
To ask the Minister for Health (a) what proportion of Singapore's total healthcare expenditure is financed by the 3Ms (Medisave, Medishield and Medifund); (b) what are the other financing sources and their respective shares of the total healthcare expenditure; and (c) whether the Ministry projects that the respective shares of healthcare expenditure will change over time and in what direction.
Reply
Reply From MOH
Total healthcare expenditure, or more commonly called national healthcare expenditure (NHE), comprises a basket of many different kinds of healthcare spending, ranging from inpatient care, outpatient care, long term care, medical products (e.g. multivitamins, health supplements, contact lenses, Chinese herbs), other healthcare services (e.g. dental treatment, tuina, acupuncture) to medical research, medical education etc. As a national basket, it includes spending by citizens, foreigners and medical tourists.
2. As 3Ms (Medisave, MediShield and Medifund) are intended primarily to help Singapore residents with their inpatient care (and to a lesser extent, some outpatient and long term care), looking at the proportion of NHE financed by 3Ms would not be meaningful. Instead, it is more meaningful to measure the contribution of 3Ms to the relevant component of NHE, like inpatient care.
3. Of the total inpatient care spending by Singapore residents in both public and private hospitals, 3Ms financed 23% (2009 data). The rest of the inpatient spending was borne by Government (51%), employers and patients (27%).
4. The proportions will not stay static, as they will alter with demographic changes, patients’ choices of ward classes, extent of insurance coverage etc. My Ministry has no projection on how the proportions will change. But we will always ensure that good healthcare remains affordable for all Singaporeans. We do this through regular revisions to Medisave withdrawal limits, MediShield payouts and Medifund allocations, as well as substantial top-ups to Medisave and Medifund when the economy does well and the Budget is strong.