SPEECH BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH, AT THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY DEBATE 2025, ON FRIDAY 7 MARCH 2025

Mr Chairman

The most active exchange during this Budget Debate has been over fiscal policies – saving as a nation or budget marksmanship, temporary vouchers versus structural support, increasing Goods and Services Tax (GST) earlier or later. As Health Minister, I feel that I have a duty to somewhat weigh in.

2.             Chairman, in the course of my speech, may I display a few slides on the LCD screens please?

3.             When I first joined this Chamber 10 years ago, in 2015, the Government annual health budget was about $9 billion. I was then-Minister for Education, my ministry was in second place, at $12 billion. MOH was very far behind at $9 billion. This year's healthcare budget is $21 billion, moved to second behind the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). By 2030, it is estimated to be over $30 billion – at least another $10 billion increase. In comparison, a two-percentage point increase in GST gives us about $5 billion more in revenue today.

4.             We need the additional GST revenue, paid for mostly by those who are better off, foreigners and tourists, to continue to support universal and affordable healthcare for Singaporeans. The support given in healthcare is practically all structural, instead of vouchers.

5.             We can argue about the perfect timing for raising tax revenues. However, if we do not raise the revenue in time while the population ages and healthcare expenditure escalates, we will not be debating budget marksmanship then. There will not even be a balanced Budget target board to aim for, as our fiscal position will be deep in the red.

6.             That said, we cannot let the healthcare expenditure curve escalate uncontrollably. It is a bill all of us, ultimately, have to pay, as taxpayers, as patients or as insurance policy holders. But it is very difficult to rein in escalating healthcare expenditure, especially when it is a matter of life and death for ourselves or for our loved ones.

7.             Further, all round the world, people have high expectations of the public healthcare system. Our three biggest wishes are for healthcare to be available when we need it, of high quality and affordable.

8.             I have spoken about these objectives in earlier COS speeches, but let me talk about our plans in the coming few years, for each of these objectives.

Securing financial affordability and sustainability

9.             First, affordability amidst rising costs and inflation. Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Mr Yip Hon Weng, Ms Mariam Jaafar, and Ms Hazel Poa asked about this.

10.           We therefore have the S+3Ms framework – Government Subsidies, MediShield Life, MediSave, and MediFund – to cushion patients from healthcare cost increases. Today, seven in 10 patients in subsidised hospital wards pay nothing out-of-pocket, zero; while eight in 10 pay less than $100.

11.          We constantly review and enhance the S+3Ms framework, to adapt to emerging clinical practices and also new circumstances.

12.          Last year, we updated the income thresholds to allow up to 1.1 million Singapore residents to qualify for higher subsidies. A few months ago, we announced significant adjustments to MediShield Life, to better protect Singaporeans against major hospitalisation episodes, and then defray costly outpatient treatments like dialysis. Most recently, we announced subsidies and MediSave withdrawals for vaccinations against Shingles.

13.          Today, I will talk about further adjustments that we are making.

14.          One, I start with MediSave withdrawal limits for outpatient scans. Over the years, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomograph (CT) scans have become more commonly used for diagnosis of certain conditions, such as cancer, as they are more detailed and accurate than X-rays. But they are also more costly. To ensure these remain affordable, we will double the MediSave withdrawal limit for such outpatient scans, from $300 to $600 per year, starting in 2026.

15.          Next is Flexi-MediSave. A few Members of Parliament (MPs) have asked about this. This scheme provides seniors aged 60 and above the flexibility to use their MediSave for outpatient treatments at polyclinics, public Specialist Outpatient Clinics, as well as Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) clinics. This limit was last raised in 2021, from $200 to $300. Since then, outpatient medical needs have grown further. We will therefore increase the withdrawal limit to $400 per year, from the fourth quarter of 2025.

16.          Dental health is another area where affordability is becoming a concern. Several MPs have raised this and asked if oral health can be part of Healthier SG.

17.          Actually, preventive dental care predates Healthier SG. All of us remember in primary school, the dreaded moment the dental nurse comes in and calls your name, that was preventive care, long ago. There has been a longstanding collaboration between Ministry of Education (MOE) schools and MOH to protect the teeth of the young. However, in adulthood, oral health deteriorates.

18.          Generally, a person needs at least 20 natural teeth to chew effectively. Unfortunately, only about half of our older population have them. We will take further steps, therefore, to encourage preventive oral care, and hopefully, preserve more teeth.

19.          Currently, only Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation, and CHAS Blue cardholders enjoy subsidies at private dental clinics for preventive procedures, such as scaling, polishing, and filling. We will extend subsidies for these dental procedures to CHAS Orange cardholders.

20.          I have met many residents, and these includes my own Citizens’ Consultative Committee Chairmen, who suffered from tooth decay and then decided to extract their tooth. I asked them why don’t you save the tooth?

21.          It can be done via a root canal procedure, which is quite common now. This means the dentist will remove the decayed parts of the tooth, including the nerves in the roots of the tooth, and then fill it up, and then cap it with a protective artificial crown. The tooth is, therefore, saved. It adds to your 20 teeth; 20 teeth include those that you save.

22.          They said no, because extraction was cheaper and it involves fewer trips to the dentist. But this is penny-wise and pound-foolish. We will have fewer and fewer teeth as we grow old if we take this approach. This diminishes our ability to chew effectively and, in our old age, affects our nutritional intake.

23.          We will, therefore, increase the CHAS dental subsidy limits for restorative procedures, such as root canal, for Pioneer and Merdeka Generation as well as CHAS Blue and Orange cardholders. We will also allow Flexi-MediSave to be used for costlier treatments like root canals and permanent crowns at CHAS dental clinics and public healthcare institutions.

24.          The next slide shows the net impact for a typical Merdeka Generation cardholder, someone with a tooth decay but decides to save it. For this senior, a molar root canal after subsidy costs about $700 at a CHAS clinic, that is the leftmost column, which he must pay by cash today. After the subsidy enhancement, the out-of-pocket payment will be about halved, to $370. He can also use up to $400 in Flexi-MediSave, so there may not be any cash payment required, and that is the rightmost column.

25.          When subsidy goes up, we must prevent some providers from raising prices sharply and creaming off the subsidy. We will, therefore, have to strengthen governance to prevent abuse, by introducing fee benchmarks for common dental procedures. So, MOH will follow up with this.

26.          Both the enhancements and fee benchmarks will be implemented around the fourth quarter of 2025. Use of Flexi-MediSave will be effective sometime in the middle of 2026.

27.          The final area is long-term care services. The Prime Minister mentioned this in the Budget Statement, so let me elaborate.

28.          Long-term care is for seniors who have become frail, disabled and dependent on others to carry out daily activities, such as eating, showering or changing. They are cared for in two main settings; one is nursing homes, or, at home, with support from community and home care services.

29.          Mr Xie Yao Quan asked if there could be fee caps for these services. In fact, both services today are heavily subsidised by the Government, with co-payment by users. With an ageing population, our annual national long-term care operating expenditure has almost doubled over the last five years, from $1.7 billion to about $3 billion today, and it continues to rise. This is because as one gets older, our care needs intensify.

30.          There is also considerable upward pressure on fees. This is mainly driven by manpower costs, especially post-COVID, where salaries of healthcare workers globally were reset to a much higher level.

31.          To ensure affordability, MOH has been increasing funding to support nursing home providers, while also quietly imposing caps on fee increases for existing residents. We did not announce this but, quietly, we have been doing that to keep fees low. So, nursing home providers also absorb part of the higher costs for these existing residents.

32.          As for seniors newly admitted into nursing homes over roughly the past one year, they have been paying higher fees, and this can be a financial burden to the families.

33.          As for seniors newly admitted to nursing homes over roughly the past one year, they have been paying higher fees, and this can be a financial burden to their families. This arrangement is not sustainable. It is also not fair to the providers, most of which are charities. It is time for us to improve our subsidy framework and significantly expand our structural support for seniors and their families.

34.          The next slide illustrates the changes we are making. The left side is nursing homes, the right chart is for home and community care subsidies. The X-axis on each slide is the per capita household income bands, while the Y-axis is the subsidy percentages. The white boxes show the current subsidy percentages, the blue and orange boxes are the additional subsidies. So, you see everything moving up. In short, we will:

a.             As indicated in blue, increase subsidies by five to 15 percentage points for almost all eligible households;

b.             Expand eligibility for maximum subsidy of 75% to 80% from about two in 10 to about three in 10 households. So, you see the leftmost two columns of each chart are now of the same height. So, the maximum subsidy is now expanded to a larger group;

c.              Provide additional subsidies of five to 15 percentage points, as indicated in orange, for those born in or before 1969 as seniors in these cohorts are not well covered by CareShield Life; and

d.             Expand eligibility to cover from six in 10 today to about seven in 10 households, so more can benefit.

35.          The increases in subsidies will be effective from July 2026. It is more than a year from now. So, between now and then, we will provide interim rebates, which will keep the fees low for Singaporeans using long-term care services. Similar enhancements will apply to community dialysis services, too.

36.          We will also increase the Home Caregiving Grant and expand the coverage of the Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund, as announced by the Prime Minister in the Budget Statement. The enhancements for these schemes will be implemented progressively from January 2026.

37.          With these enhancements, over 80% of seniors, especially those being cared for at home, will pay less for their long-term care services. Let me illustrate with three examples.

38.          Example one is a lower-income family supporting a moderately disabled grandpa receiving home and community care. They pay about $600 a month today. In 2025, the interim rebates kick in, and their out-of-pocket payment will drop to about $500. In 2026, when the full enhancements are implemented, it will drop to $200. Thereafter, fees will continue to rise in tandem with inflation and income.

39.          Example two is a lower-income family who recently admitted their severely disabled grandma to a nursing home. The monthly out-of-pocket payment now is about $1,300. In 2025, when the rebates kick in, this will decrease to $1,150. In mid-2026, when the full enhancements are implemented, payments will further drop to about $1,000.

40.          Example three is a disabled grandma from a lower-income family who has been staying in nursing homes for a few years now. Instead of $1,300 a month, today they pay a discounted amount of about $900, because MOH caps their fee increases. The upcoming enhancements will formalise this temporary arrangement.

41.          We will continue working closely with providers to manage their fees families have to pay, which should not change much this year. Over time, their fees should rise gradually in tandem with inflation and income.

42.          We will continue working closely with providers to manage the fees that families have to pay, which should not change much this year. Over time, their fees should rise gradually in tandem with inflation and income. The entire package of long-term care enhancements will benefit more than 80,000 seniors, who can expect to receive support of up to $2.1 billion, from 2025 to 2030.

Healthcare that is available when we need it

43.          Chair, let me move to the second objective of public healthcare, which is to ensure availability.

44.          Post-COVID-19, like many countries in the world, we saw many more seniors with complex conditions. A couple of years of isolation and neglect of chronic conditions have taken their toll.

45.          The average length of stay in hospitals jumped abruptly from six days to seven days post-pandemic. Sounds like one day, but it means a 15% increase in workload for hospitals. Worse still, COVID-19 delayed our infrastructure development.

46.          We have been doing major catch-up in infrastructure development. Expanding capacity, however, does not mean just building hospitals. We need smart capacity, across a spectrum of care needs and, especially, in the community. Only then will we be able to give the most appropriate care for different types of patients.

47.          Over the past five years, we have expanded capacity by over 6,300 beds, as shown on the slide.

48.          This includes 1,200 acute hospital beds, with the opening of Woodlands Health and across other hospitals. This is the part in white. We rolled out Mobile Inpatient Care@Home and commissioned 200 beds. We opened new community hospitals and added 600 new beds and we also added 4,300 nursing home beds. And adding nursing home beds is a major move, because if a senior cannot find a nursing home bed, they will end up in the hospital.

49.          This capacity makes a huge difference. With Woodlands Health, the capacity crunch at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital has finally eased after many years. Bed occupancy has fallen from the typical 100% or more to now a healthier 85%. Average waiting times have thus fallen.

50.          Recently the Singapore General Hospital opened an 80-bed acute medical ward to support its Emergency Department (ED). It caters to patients who have suffered, say, a fracture or you met with an accident and you are in shock. So, they are not in any danger, but they just need a short stay in hospital. So, this acute medical ward caters to this kind of patients and immediately provided relief to the ED.

51.          During COVID-19, Singapore General Hospital had to convert this link bridge between two blocks into bed space for ED patients that overspilled. And no more space, we put them along the link bridge. Not many people knew that. Dr Tan Wu Meng knows that. The beds were recently removed and the bridge is now open to pedestrians again and one of the final harrowing memories of COVID-19 has now been removed from SGH.

52.          From 2025 to 2030, we plan to add another 13,600 beds to our system.

53.          This includes about 2,800 public acute and community hospital beds to be added to Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital, Sengkang General Hospital and also Woodlands Health.

54.          It will also include beds in the redeveloped Alexandra Hospital and the new Eastern General Hospital, which will open progressively from 2028 and 2029 respectively.

55.          This will bring public hospital beds from 12,000 today to 15,000 in 2030. That is a 25% increase.

56.          We will also add around 10,600 more nursing home beds. That is a huge number. But that is the number that we have to deal with as our population ages.

57.          In the following decade from 2030 to 2040, the new Tengah General Hospital will open. Singapore General Hospital campus and the National University Hospital Kent Ridge campus would have undergone major redevelopment to further improve national healthcare infrastructure.

One of the best quality healthcare in the world

58.          The third and final objective is to ensure high quality. This means that illnesses are effectively treated, patients’ preferences respected and innovative technologies leveraged to ensure patients can recover and get back to health quickly.

59.          The intangible aspects also matter. Kindness and care must fill our wards and clinics so patients do not feel alone in their journey of convalescence. When a patient nears end-of-life, we walk the last mile with them and ensure that they leave peacefully.

60.          What matters most to quality is actually our people. Our healthcare workers, they are the driving force behind good care. We saw that during COVID-19, and they deserve all our respect, appreciation and encouragement.

61.          We are not doing badly in retaining and attracting talent. We are fortunate that Singaporeans want to join the healthcare sector. Our healthcare education programmes see healthy intakes. I always say, if you go to a primary school, for every 12 young students you see, one is likely to join healthcare. For every 20 students you see, one is likely to become a nurse.

62.          Regionally, we are an attractive place for foreign nurses. We worked with the Singapore Nursing Board to significantly reduce the processing time of registration applications from six months in the past to now, 30 days. We moved examinations online. With these moves, we become even more competitive.

63.          In 2023, we recruited about 4,500 new nurses. Last year, we continued this momentum with another 3,800 new nurses and introduced the Award for Nurses' Grace, Excellence and Loyalty (ANGEL) scheme. That was introduced in 2024 to encourage nurses to continue viewing their profession as an attractive long-term career.

64.          Over Chinese New Year, I also announced salary enhancements for pharmacists, allied health professionals, administrative and ancillary staff later this year. About 37,000 staff will benefit.

65.          Doctors are another key area. We have increased the intake across our three medical schools from about 500 in 2020 to 550 in 2024. We have expanded the list of recognised overseas universities, so we can welcome more Singaporeans studying medicine overseas to return to Singapore to practice.

66.          Our healthcare workers, including junior doctors, they are dedicated and work very hard. Heavy workload is a phenomenon in all developed countries, which are ageing and experiencing rising patient load.

67.          Mr Faisal Manap spoke up about the difficulties that junior doctors are facing. I thank him for caring for our doctors. But let me state a few facts. One, Part 4 of the Employment Act does not cover professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), including doctors. The hours that you mentioned do not apply. I think many PMEs, including Members in this House, we work quite a number of hours, beyond what is specified in the Employment Act.

68.          Number Two, I hope Members do not go away thinking that we are facing a major outflow of doctors. The attrition rate of junior doctors is about three to six percent over the last eight years. Over the last two years, it is under five percent. It is healthy. I wish it can be slightly lower, but actually it is quite healthy.

69.          Thirdly, salary adjustments for doctors were implemented 1 February 2024 only recently and we try to make sure we are competitive. I want to emphasise: MOH has cared for our people and invested in them heavily for decades. From the moment they enter medical school, the subsidy we provide, the investment we made in our talent when they come into the system, going through housemanship, as a junior doctor, going through residency.  We invested heavily and we continue to invest heavily in our doctors. But in championing the welfare of junior doctors, I urge Mr Faisal, too, to consider the interest of patients.

70.          Remember, healthcare is not like aviation. When pilots need to rest, passengers just have to wait for the next flight. All of us have experienced that in airports before. If we do that for doctors, patients will be left untreated and their lives can be in danger.

71.          So, for MOH, we constantly have to balance the welfare of healthcare workers as well as patients. If we suddenly limit the working hours of doctors, patients will suffer. There have been many efforts for us to better manage these tensions, which the Senior Minister of State Dr Janil Puthucheary will elaborate on.

72.          Transformation of our medical workforce is key to maintaining and improving quality of care. The profiles of our patients are changing – generally older, with multiple health conditions requiring simultaneous management and coordination.

73.          We are, therefore, reorganising the healthcare workforce. This means complementing specialists, who are very skilled in managing specific organ systems, with doctors with a broader breadth of expertise who can anchor, coordinate and manage cross-specialty issues for patients, which Dr Tan Wu Meng talked about.

74.          This will enable us to deliver more holistic and integrated care, and it will be a key priority in the coming few years.

75.          Besides the organisation of people, the ingenuity of our people matters just as much in driving quality. Technological breakthroughs, like AI and genomics, are ushering a scientific revolution in healthcare. Dr Lim Wee Kiak spoke about this.

76.          We are now working on new legislative protections to safeguard the use of genetic test information. These are important and sensitive personal data. In my view, these data should not be used to decide on issues, such as insurance underwriting, hiring people or granting of university places.

77.          But we will need broad public consultation for this legislation. Such a law is important to anchor the moral foundations of our society even as medical science breaks new grounds.   

78.          With sufficient legal assurance, we will have the confidence to actively explore and experiment with the use of technology. Finding the right use cases is critical. We are not waiting for the legislation. We are starting now. In fact, we started some time ago.

79.          Many good applications are emerging. Singapore General Hospital is deploying an AI-powered app for parents to screen their babies for jaundice at home using their handphone with an app. The app is trained with Singapore's multi-ethnic data and is sensitive to different skin tones.

80.          At the National University Hospital, doctors use AI to recommend treatment for patients by tapping into a vast database of historical caseload. With this tool, some doctors quipped that a junior doctor can now perform almost at the level of a senior doctor, because the experience is granted to them through AI.

81.          In all these projects, the healthcare professionals remain in control of patient care and are enabled and enhanced by AI tools. Where an application is workable and is effective, we will expand it throughout the healthcare system.

82.          Hence, by the end of this year, we hope all public healthcare institutions will adopt generative AI systems that can automatically transcribe doctors' conversations with their patients and summarise them for doctors' review before they are entered into patients' healthcare records. By the end of this year, too, we hope all public health institutions will be able to use AI to automate and improve the accuracy of imaging scans, such as chest X-rays and mammograms.

83.          Mr Ang Wei Neng and Ms Ng Ling Ling asked about TCM. The quality of our system can also improve if we can successfully integrate aspects of TCM proven to be safe and effective to complement Western medicine as part of mainstream healthcare. Singapore is a multicultural country, open to learning from all parts of the world. If there is a jurisdiction outside of Greater China that can blend and integrate Western medicine and TCM, it should be us.

84.          We made a lot of progress in recent years. We now have our own TCM degree delivered by the Nanyang Technological University, enhanced professional training, we streamlined examination requirements and we are strengthening the TCM accreditation framework.

85.          Today, certain acupuncture treatments are already incorporated in mainstream public hospital treatment. Later this year, SingHealth and the Academy of Chinese Medicine, Singapore will be co-organising a forum on the integration of TCM and western medicine. It will be attended by both TCM practitioners as well as Western doctors. I think it will be a great platform to explore further opportunities to identify further steps to synergise the strengths of both systems.

86.          Mr Chairman, my speech now in Chinese.

87.          对年长者来说，一个主要的担忧就是医药费。

88.          他们大多数已经退休了，靠储蓄过生活。当需要动用储蓄来支付医药费时，难免会担心负担不起。

89.          因此，我们多年来推行了许多政策，包括了建国一代和立国一代配套；健康SG和乐龄SG计划, 来减低年长者的医药费负担。

90.          去年，我们调整了社保援助计划（CHAS）的资格标准，让更多人的橙卡，能够变成蓝卡。

91.          我也刚宣布了几项新措施：

·       第一，提高灵活保健储蓄计划（Flexi-MediSave）的使用顶限，从每年300元，增加到400元。

·       第二，提高一些牙科服务的津贴额。国人也能开始动用保健储蓄来支付根管治疗和牙冠等手术费用。

·       第三，调高长期护理服务的津贴。

92.          国人时不时都会向卫生部建议提供更多的津贴。我们都能理解，合理可行的，我们会尽量采纳。

93.          但大家也应该听过：“羊毛出在羊身上”。无论是更多的津贴，更多的保险赔付，甚至免费服务，钱总是得花的。而钱跟羊毛一样，最终还是由人民通过付费，保险费或税收来承担。

94.          我们会通过津贴、保险、保健储蓄和自付费用，多管齐下，继续减少资源的浪费，尽量避免不必要的疗程，或者是过度治疗。这能够约束国家的医疗开销的膨胀，人民的负担也会相对地受到控制。

95.          对大多数人来说要确保自己付得起医药费的最佳方法是保持健康的生活、远离疾病。

96.          因此，我们推行了健康SG计划。许多国人踊跃参加，更多国人也开始多做运动，这点让我感到非常欣慰。

97.          今天，我希望能够说服更多的年长者，保持身心活跃。年长者除了运动之外，也需要有社交圈，让欢笑围绕自己。

98.          所以，我们用心良苦，在全国各地设立了活跃乐龄中心。我们为这些中心提供更多的资源，让他们为年长者能够举办更多活动和聚会。

99.          在我的选区，我是活跃乐龄中心的忠实推销员。我在这方面也取得了一些心得。邀请年长者来到活跃乐龄中心，有一点像三顾茅庐。

100.       当年长者第一次听到活跃乐龄中心（AAC）的时侯，他们会感到好奇，会问：“这是什么中心？是谁办的？”他们有的可能会问义工：“你是不是房地产代理？”

101.       但我们进一步解释什么是活跃乐龄中心的活动后，年长者的态度往往会越来越开放。

102.       如果接着跟他们说，中心每个星期都会有聚餐，“您来吧，我们请！” 我们总看得到他们的脸上露出的喜悦和笑容。

103.       古时候，武林高手为了得到功夫秘诀，你争我夺，自相残杀。现时今日，我们需要的不是武功秘诀，而是健康秘诀。而健康秘诀呢，大家垂手可得：吃得健康、睡得够、多运动、定期做体检，有空就来活跃乐龄中心走走！这就是健康秘诀。

Towards better health

104.       Mr Chair, let me conclude.

105.       I spoke about our plans to achieve our three big objectives of public healthcare. The problem is that they are competing objectives, a trilemma. It is impossible to achieve all three fully. Something has to give.

106.       Indeed, in the UK, patients do not have to pay for public healthcare. But as a result, demand shoots up and they now have seven million public patients on the waiting list for elective treatments. Healthcare is affordable, but not so available. Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked what can we learn from other countries, including the National Health Service?  I think what we can learn from the National Health Service is to try not to be in the position they are in now.

107.       Switzerland adopts novel medical technologies and ranks top in the world for quality. But about a quarter of the population chooses not to be treated, citing high cost. Hence, high quality healthcare in Switzerland, but not so affordable.

108.       These countries offer an important lesson. If we are dogmatic and want to achieve one objective 100%, we pay a big price in the other objectives. But if we take a more practical approach, we can balance the trade-offs and try to maybe achieve all three at 80%.

109.       A key to achieving these lies in a healthy population. With better health, we can achieve all three at the same time without trade-offs.

110.       Mr Chair, Dr Lim Wee Kiak talked about healthy longevity. A friend of mine, in his 70s and an avid golfer, once said that the perfect way for him to go is when he is 100 years old, playing golf, hits a beautiful shot, scores a hole-in-one, he is so happy, he collapses and dies.

111.       He may sound like he is joking, but I think he is dead serious. What he essentially described is the “holy grail” of healthcare where healthspan equals lifespan and you are healthy enough to do what you love until the last day.

112.       We are far from that scenario. Singapore, indeed, has one of the highest average lifespans in the world at 84, but our healthspan is only 74. This gap is quite consistent with most developed countries, but we must try to narrow it.

113.       We need policies that improve population health. Individually, too, we can all practise better preventive care and take better care of our own health.

114.       Nationally, we need a major programme, hence Healthier SG. After one and a half years, we enrolled almost 1.2 million Singaporeans onto Healthier SG, about half of the eligible population. Three-quarters of our enrollees have also since completed their Health Plan consultation.

115.       Health screening, vaccination rates, they are all rising. Discernibly, more Singaporeans are exercising. We are happy with this good start.

116.       A lot of hard work lies ahead. We are inculcating more good habits amongst our population. We have cut down sugar consumption, including in the Members' Room. We are labelling packaged drinks. People are much more conscious. We are moving soon to sodium and saturated fats. We implemented Grow Well SG to improve health habits of our young. We are tackling the mental health challenge.

117.       And at some point, AI models will analyse our medical or even genetic data to predict 10 years ahead if we are likely to get a stroke, heart attack or cancer. And then, it will alert our Healthier SG doctor, who will, in turn, advise us what are the preventive steps to take. This is predictive preventive care – Healthier SG 2.0 – and we are not far away at all.

118.       Mr Chairman, we are determined to expand healthcare capacity. So, even though we are rapidly ageing, healthcare must be available when Singaporeans need it.

119.       We will develop our people, transform medical delivery and harness technology to continue to deliver high quality healthcare that Singaporeans deserve.

120.       Through our S+3Ms framework, we will ensure no one is denied appropriate medical care because they cannot afford it.

121.       This Government understands that healthcare is a basic and essential public service that Singaporeans value. We have the experience, wherewithal, determination, ideas and policies to upkeep and strengthen this key tenet of our social compact.

122.       Our agenda for healthcare is transformative and long term and will take us well beyond this Budget year. I hope to have the continued strong support of this House, as we work together to overcome the mounting challenge of an ageing population, to cure sickness, to bring comfort to those in need, and strengthen the health and happiness of all Singaporeans. Thank you, Chair.