Our Singapore Conversation on Healthcare

OUR SINGAPORE CONVERSATION ON HEALTHCARE

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has held conversations with different groups of Singaporeans to solicit their views and feedback for a better healthcare system. We held two Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) sessions in February where participants’ main feedback was on the affordability of healthcare in the light of rising healthcare costs and a rapidly ageing population. The participants also consistently emphasised the need for shared responsibility among individuals, healthcare providers and the government to ensure that healthcare continued to remain affordable in the years to come. We also had a second dialogue centred on the theme of health and fitness and we were encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by the participants for healthy living.

2          At the Committee of Supply Debates in March this year, the Government had committed to take on a larger share of healthcare spending.  We had also conducted a month-long public consultation on the Healthy Living Masterplan – our national strategic blueprint to encourage Singaporeans to live more healthily. The consultation ended on 31 May 2013. MOH is studying the feedback and will share more details in time to come.

3          In the past few months, MOH has also conversed with different groups, including healthcare professionals and academics on key healthcare issues, especially on the themes of “Enhancing Affordability and Access to Quality Care” and on “Building a Healthy Nation”. We are exploring how key suggestions from Singaporeans can be used to co-create a better, more sustainable Healthcare system for our future.

4          The Lianhe Zaobao OSC on Healthcare today provides us with an additional opportunity to reach out to a different group of participants, namely its readers, who have been active in providing ZB with feedback on a variety of issues including healthcare affordability.

5          MOH will be working towards incorporating Singaporeans’ views and suggestions into our review of the Healthcare Financing Framework – comprising Subsidies, Medisave, MediShield and Medifund – which was announced in March this year. In particular, we will be focusing on the following areas:

·         Helping Singaporeans – in particular the lower-income, the sandwiched class and the elderly – better afford their healthcare costs, through more Government subsidies. We are committed to increase the government’s share of healthcare spending to do more to help Singaporeans afford their healthcare costs.

·         Enabling Singaporeans to have greater peace of mind that they will be able to afford healthcare when they need it. We will explore enhancing risk pooling to develop a more comprehensive MediShield and review the flexibility of Medisave use to strike a judicious balance between helping our people defray the out of pocket cost of outpatient treatment and preserving Medisaveto help patients pay for larger hospitalisation bills.

·         Working with healthcare providers to manage costs and ensure that healthcare remains affordable and sustainable. These include initiatives to achieve greater fee transparency and productivity measures to achieve better efficiency in our healthcare institutions.

·         Encouraging Singaporeans to live a healthy lifestyleand play their part in keeping healthcare costs down.

6          We wish to thank the many Singaporeans who have taken the time and effort to participate in MOH’s OSC sessions thus far. Members of public are invited to continue contributing to the exchange with Minister of State for Health Dr Amy Khor this coming Wednesday evening, 3 July, from 7.30 – 9.00pm at the MOH-REACH Live Facebook Chat on Healthcare Affordability. Interested participants can register at outreach@reach.gov.sg by 1 July 2013. 

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
30JUNE 2013