So much for transparency and subsidies
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ST Forum 28 Nov 06
ALL citizens who have contributed to Medisave qualify for health insurance, in the form of MediShield.
This is so that, with rising health-care costs, they have insurance to fall back on when they are taken ill.
However, what happened to my mother-in-law recently proved unsettling.
My mother-in-law was admitted to Gleneagles Hospital following a heart attack and the specialist there recommended that she undergo a bypass immediately. Unfortunately, she died without regaining consciousness.
Now we are laden with medical bills of more than $50,000.
As my mother-in-law was covered under MediShield, we expected at least a small portion of the bills to be taken care of by the insurance.
However, after a long wait, the Central Provident Fund Board has granted us a payout of only $1,438, less than 3 per cent of the total bill. How is the payout determined?
By subscribing to MediShield, we expect that it would help us to cover some of our medical costs but it is not of much help when the payout is so little.
I hope the authorities will look into this issue.
We are not asking for welfare - just a reasonable payout from MediShield.
Chew Kai Hwa (Ms)
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ST Forum 28 Nov 06 - Why medicine cost more at ployclinic
I REFER to Mr Tan Bee Loke's letter ('Why the big difference in subsidy?'; ST, Nov 15) and National Healthcare Group (NHG) Pharmacy's Ms Ng Mok Shiang's unhelpful response ('Polyclinic patients enjoy higher subsidies'; ST, Nov 23) on subsidised medication sold at polyclinics and restructured hospitals.
Mr Tan was referring specifically to subsidised medicines but Ms Ng clouded the issue by digressing into the cost of subsidised consultation, laboratory fees, etc.
Secondly, she said there is a long list of medicines where prices are not identical, without offering any explanation on why this is the case, especially as both institutions referred to are part of the NHG cluster.
The root of the disparity in prices lies in the way polyclinics and restructured hospitals charge for medicine.
Medicines dispensed at the hospitals are sold on a per-pill basis. At the polyclinics, 'expensive' medicine is sold on this basis while the rest, the 'cheap' ones, are sold at $1.40 per week.
Take the case of a 450mg calcium-carbonate tablet. At Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) each costs three cents, at the pharmacy in the hospital it is five cents but at the polyclinic it costs 20 cents!
Another example: an Allopurinol 100mg tablet costs three cents at TTSH but 20 cents at the polyclinic. While the cost of the medication goes down to 10 cents if the daily dosage is two tablets, it is still costlier at the polyclinic.
Why this great disparity? Where is the subsidy in this group of 'cheap' medicines?
Finally, there is the question of transparency in the way charges are presented on the invoice. Currently, medications dispensed at the restructured hospitals are cost itemised, whereas at the polyclinics this is shown as one lump sum.
Chua Koon Ngee -
ST Forum 28 Nov 06 - Doc itemised bill after charging lump sum
I AGREE with Mr Peter Loon Seng Chee that Singapore consumers should demand the strict enforcement of the so-called 'what you see is what you pay' rule ('Merchants, state nett prices with surcharges'; ST, Nov 20).
I would like to share my experience with a private doctor in Singapore. For a series of consultations, he charged me a huge lump sum. After payment, I requested a breakdown of the charges.
To my surprise, the doctor told me he had no breakdown and needed time to draw one up.
A week later, I received a breakdown and I was horrified to discover that I was charged for days I did not visit his clinic. I wrote to the doctor and, instead of addressing the errors, he gave me a new breakdown.
This manner of charging seems to go against the grain of professional ethics.
Shouldn't a doctor have a breakdown of work and charges before billing his patient, and not the other way round?
Li Jian Hua (Mrs) -
after reading these letters, why do i have the feeling the "increased cost of health care" isn't really due to increases but to pay for the doctor's new yacht, condo, summer house in switzerland, winter house in adelaide....
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When you can't come up with a satisfactory reason, deploy the smoke grenades.
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So what does Medisave, Medishield & Medifund do?
KBW please explain. -
i think they're to suck up your money to be put somewhere for creative accounting purposes?
looks like it after these examples..Originally posted by LinYu:So what does Medisave, Medishield & Medifund do?
KBW please explain. -
This Singapore Inc.!!!
The poors will have to suffer in silence!
WAKE UP SINGAPOREANS!!! -
These are what I call 'Half-a.ss Gov Insurance Policies'; when it comes to paying out to the Policy Holder, kock & bull stories along with lame excuses will be dished out instead.
I say it's outright CHEATING!
Look. people in UK may be paying HIGH TAXES, but heck, they are getting what they are paying for!!!
Are we getting ANYTHING for all that we HAVE BEEN paying for????
NO! Just their bluddy INCREASES in everything!
We NEED NOT OWE THEM the VOTES anymore!!!
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Our Minister of hell Mr Cold said hor....our sg land very very very expensive lah....so bopian...they have to increase costs loh..must create scientific calculation for cost of land, govt services, medical and so on... if not... how is he and the other mini-stars keep on drawing millions dollars salaries, perks, bonuses and life long pensions????Originally posted by LinYu:ST Forum 28 Nov 06 - Why medicine cost more at ployclinic
I REFER to Mr Tan Bee Loke's letter ('Why the big difference in subsidy?'; ST, Nov 15) and National Healthcare Group (NHG) Pharmacy's Ms Ng Mok Shiang's unhelpful response ('Polyclinic patients enjoy higher subsidies'; ST, Nov 23) on subsidised medication sold at polyclinics and restructured hospitals.
Mr Tan was referring specifically to subsidised medicines but Ms Ng clouded the issue by digressing into the cost of subsidised consultation, laboratory fees, etc.
Secondly, she said there is a long list of medicines where prices are not identical, without offering any explanation on why this is the case, especially as both institutions referred to are part of the NHG cluster.
The root of the disparity in prices lies in the way polyclinics and restructured hospitals charge for medicine.
Medicines dispensed at the hospitals are sold on a per-pill basis. At the polyclinics, 'expensive' medicine is sold on this basis while the rest, the 'cheap' ones, are sold at $1.40 per week.
Take the case of a 450mg calcium-carbonate tablet. At Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) each costs three cents, at the pharmacy in the hospital it is five cents but at the polyclinic it costs 20 cents!
Another example: an Allopurinol 100mg tablet costs three cents at TTSH but 20 cents at the polyclinic. While the cost of the medication goes down to 10 cents if the daily dosage is two tablets, it is still costlier at the polyclinic.
Why this great disparity? Where is the subsidy in this group of 'cheap' medicines?
Finally, there is the question of transparency in the way charges are presented on the invoice. Currently, medications dispensed at the restructured hospitals are cost itemised, whereas at the polyclinics this is shown as one lump sum.
Chua Koon Ngee -
To be fair as much as I don't fancy defending the so-called affordability of the healthcare system back home, WHY THE HECK DID THEY GO TO GLENEAGLES ? It's private !!! What they heck did they expect! Each time a consultant go visit for 5 mins - 600 to 800 dollars bye bye. WHY should the healthcare system to accomodate their PRIVATE hospital accomodation?Originally posted by LinYu:ST Forum 28 Nov 06
ALL citizens who have contributed to Medisave qualify for health insurance, in the form of MediShield.
This is so that, with rising health-care costs, they have insurance to fall back on when they are taken ill.
However, what happened to my mother-in-law recently proved unsettling.
My mother-in-law was admitted to Gleneagles Hospital following a heart attack and the specialist there recommended that she undergo a bypass immediately. Unfortunately, she died without regaining consciousness.
Now we are laden with medical bills of more than $50,000.
As my mother-in-law was covered under MediShield, we expected at least a small portion of the bills to be taken care of by the insurance.
However, after a long wait, the Central Provident Fund Board has granted us a payout of only $1,438, less than 3 per cent of the total bill. How is the payout determined?
By subscribing to MediShield, we expect that it would help us to cover some of our medical costs but it is not of much help when the payout is so little.
I hope the authorities will look into this issue.
We are not asking for welfare - just a reasonable payout from MediShield.
Chew Kai Hwa (Ms)
If they stayed at Singapore General Hospital , I say that is too much for them . But if they chose to admit her into Gleneagles - they shouldn't complain at all since they should be well aware that if they cannot afford it , they shouldn't go there.
If they went to Singapore General Hospital and stay in a subsidised class , it will be less than 50k . My relative stayed in b1 class in SGH for a cardiac bypass - it was still below 50k. -
could it be that they don't trust the gabrament hospitals anymore?
i went to the gabrament polyclinic with a slipped disc so that they can refer me to the gabrament hospitals... the pain was so bad i could not stand straight... i was supposed to wait 3 to 4 months for a visit to the orthopaedic specialist..
i accepted that as i could see the lady at the polyclinic tried her best..
the next day, the pain was so intense i could not get out bed.. somehow i crawled to the A&E.. the doc at the A&E was literally screaming into the phone but could not get me an appointment with the orthopaedic and i had to wait for a week.. so she pumped me full of painkillers, apologised to me and said i had to go home..
now.. if i had been wheeled into Gleneagles, i'd be treated right? but i'd have to declare bankruptcy after that..
does that answer your question why Gleneagles?Originally posted by fymk:
To be fair as much as I don't fancy defending the so-called affordability of the healthcare system back home, [b] WHY THE HECK DID THEY GO TO GLENEAGLES ? It's private !!! What they heck did they expect! Each time a consultant go visit for 5 mins - 600 to 800 dollars bye bye. WHY should the healthcare system to accomodate their PRIVATE hospital accomodation?
If they stayed at Singapore General Hospital , I say that is too much for them . But if they chose to admit her into Gleneagles - they shouldn't complain at all since they should be well aware that if they cannot afford it , they shouldn't go there.
If they went to Singapore General Hospital and stay in a subsidised class , it will be less than 50k . My relative stayed in b1 class in SGH for a cardiac bypass - it was still below 50k. [/b] -
Originally posted by fymk:
The crux of the issue is the amount of subsidies, not the cost of the treatment.
To be fair as much as I don't fancy defending the so-called affordability of the healthcare system back home, [b] WHY THE HECK DID THEY GO TO GLENEAGLES ? It's private !!! What they heck did they expect! Each time a consultant go visit for 5 mins - 600 to 800 dollars bye bye. WHY should the healthcare system to accomodate their PRIVATE hospital accomodation?
If they stayed at Singapore General Hospital , I say that is too much for them . But if they chose to admit her into Gleneagles - they shouldn't complain at all since they should be well aware that if they cannot afford it , they shouldn't go there.
If they went to Singapore General Hospital and stay in a subsidised class , it will be less than 50k . My relative stayed in b1 class in SGH for a cardiac bypass - it was still below 50k. [/b]
If your mother is sick, wouldn't you want the best that you can afford? Would you ask the hospital how much is the subsidies before committing your mother for treatment?
The hospital would have brief them about the estimate cost before treatment and they should be well enough to afford it. The payout from medishield would be a bonus but it turn out to be a shocking disappointment.
Ask me. I terminated (opt out) my medishield, healthshield, medicare, medisave, medishit etc.
This brings about another topic. My mother was given $800 progress package before the election but did not receive a single cent because she was automatically opt into a health insurance by CPF. The best part is, the premium is more than $800 annually. What a joke. She canceled the insurance and bought 4D instead. -
Ok. Sorry to hear about your slipped disc however we are not talking about slipped disc here . I have 2 slipped discs (cervical and lumbar) and that is what they do to me in Australia - pump me up with muscle relaxants and painkillers then wait 4 months to see a neurosurgeon for assessment . Depending on the severity ...like loss of function , you are categorised according to priority to be seen. Nothing can be done unless they are severe. Even with surgery , the risk is high - loss of life, paralysis etc . It is a lifelimiting condition unless it fully collapses which results in total paralysis. So they often opt for a conservative treatment with the hope that it will subside by itself before they even attempt to open you up. The neurosurgeon told me to look after my back and not to worsen it . Ask Rhonda if you don't believe me.Originally posted by the Bear:could it be that they don't trust the gabrament hospitals anymore?
i went to the gabrament polyclinic with a slipped disc so that they can refer me to the gabrament hospitals... the pain was so bad i could not stand straight... i was supposed to wait 3 to 4 months for a visit to the orthopaedic specialist..
i accepted that as i could see the lady at the polyclinic tried her best..
the next day, the pain was so intense i could not get out bed.. somehow i crawled to the A&E.. the doc at the A&E was literally screaming into the phone but could not get me an appointment with the orthopaedic and i had to wait for a week.. so she pumped me full of painkillers, apologised to me and said i had to go home..
now.. if i had been wheeled into Gleneagles, i'd be treated right? but i'd have to declare bankruptcy after that..
does that answer your question why Gleneagles?
We are talking a medical emergency and failure to treat a medical emergency means negligence. No doctor in his right mind will send a patient with a life threatening cardiac condition home. I had 2 relatives who had cardiac symptoms and they were retained and monitored in a high dependency unit ,in a government restructured hospital. 1 survived and the other did not because of multi illness.
I am not defending the system . I don't like the way polyclinics work . Now someone said something about UK having free healthcare - well ....in UK you are likely to WAIT for your free cardiac bypass - by that time - you mati liow. Their oncology waiting list is ridiculous as well - some wait til 6 months - by then the cancer already spread. And in the UK , NHS assigns you to a doctor , meaning you get one lousy doctor - too bad.... -
My mom has her illnesses and she chooses to go to restructured hospitals and the polyclinic . So far , she just hates waiting to see them but still she won't go to private doctors . Private doesn't mean the best since she nearly got dosed wrongly by the private doctor until I checked her prescription dose.Originally posted by anonymouscoward:The crux of the issue is the amount of subsidies, not the cost of the treatment.
If your mother is sick, wouldn't you want the best that you can afford? Would you ask the hospital how much is the subsidies before committing your mother for treatment?
The hospital would have brief them about the estimate cost before treatment and they should be well enough to afford it. The payout from medishield would be a bonus but it turn out to be a shocking disappointment.
Ask me. I terminated (opt out) my medishield, healthshield, medicare, medisave, medishit etc.
This brings about another topic. My mother was given $800 progress package before the election but did not receive a single cent because she was automatically opt into a health insurance by CPF. The best part is, the premium is more than $800 annually. What a joke. She canceled the insurance and bought 4D instead.
Besides the point , let's put it this way . If I wanted to best care possible for my own mom , I would send her to USA for treatment. So am I allowed to claim subsidy for that as well? Singapore General Hospital is quite well known for their cardiothoracic surgeons and I would say practice makes perfect. With them yanking out diseased arteries everyday ....why won't it make them the best?
Yes the amount CPF returned is worse than a private health insurance company . Maybe 4k or so would have been good.
And everything is the joke really - they give you 200 dollars then they take back 400 dollars through indirect taxes - go complain to the 66.6% voters who gave them the strong mandate to rule . -
why i went to the polyclinic?
because i had prior experience with the gabrament hospitals... if you were wheeled into the orthopaedic place, you will be turned back no matter what condition you were in.. that's what they said to me.. so i had to go through the whole process..
now, i know all about loss of other functions, but when a person is in enough pain where even lying down is pure agony without being doped up, isn't that classified as a severe case? the GPs were too afraid to do anything because they felt they were not qualified to, and the specialists were too mired in an overwhelming backlog of patients...
something is wrong here...
back to the heart condition of the lady... would you trust gabrament hospitals after things like that?
anyway, trust aside.. one would think that if i had a bunch of medishield, or whatever, i'd be able to use MY money to seek medical help.. isn't that what it is for?
there are also scary stories of people i know who have been given the shaft by gabrament hospitals...
i think the bean counters have taken over.. it's no longer about health care at our gabrament hospitals anymore, it's about balancing the books or worse, trying to make a profit.. -
Look bear , I sympathise with your condition because I have it too . I remember not being able to move for 2 days because of the pain . I didn't seek a private specialist in Melbourne because I knew the public hospital neurosurgeon was one of the best in the country. And he told me that it is life long - nothing to do unless I cannot feel or move my arms or legs.Originally posted by the Bear:why i went to the polyclinic?
because i had prior experience with the gabrament hospitals... if you were wheeled into the orthopaedic place, you will be turned back no matter what condition you were in.. that's what they said to me.. so i had to go through the whole process..
now, i know all about loss of other functions, but when a person is in enough pain where even lying down is pure agony without being doped up, isn't that classified as a severe case? the GPs were too afraid to do anything because they felt they were not qualified to, and the specialists were too mired in an overwhelming backlog of patients...
something is wrong here...
back to the heart condition of the lady... would you trust gabrament hospitals after things like that?
anyway, trust aside.. one would think that if i had a bunch of medishield, or whatever, i'd be able to use MY money to seek medical help.. isn't that what it is for?
there are also scary stories of people i know who have been given the shaft by gabrament hospitals...
i think the bean counters have taken over.. it's no longer about health care at our gabrament hospitals anymore, it's about balancing the books or worse, trying to make a profit..
I don't trust any hospitals at all - private or public - I remember being forgotten in the Emergency Department in Canberra for 4 hours prior to being treated for red back spider envenomisation (doctor told me she forgot) and forgotten in Sydney for 6 hrs when my liver was swelling to an allergic reaction. I was also ignored at the triage in a hospital until I nearly went into respiratory distress (psychologically distressing when you can see the nurses rushing to get intubation equipment ready for you ) . 2 of these incidents landed me in resuscitation bay - hooked to machines . In Singapore, that never quite happened to me. I get seen and I get treated and x rayed.
People do get forgotten and left in the shaft all the time everywhere - that is unless you are some BIG SHOT millionaire or you know the magic phrase like " IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG, I AM CALLING MY LAWYER" or " I am going to make a HUGE fuss which will make you regret" .
In the USA , no insurance means no specialist to see you ....that one also lagi bad. In UK , you get a crap doctor for free and you cannot change him unless NHS reassigns you to another doctor. -
shafted in singapore as in.. old lady falls and the family takes her to the hospital..
doc says: take her home.. and he did that without even looking over at the old lady
the old lady is in agony and there are signs of something wrong.. she threw up at home and on the way to the hospital.. and isn't in total control of her limbs
friends insisted that something is wrong and had to threaten the doctor..
the old lady was then grudgingly admitted.. after a day of the doctor not doing anything, again, the same song and dance of "take her home"
more threats... a scan later, they found a skull fracture in the old lady...
after treating her for it, the hospital administration tried to get her out of the hospital into another place because she would then be charged full fee there for recovery instead of a subsidised rate in the hospital..
that's what i mean by bean counters taking over.. -
nally posted by the Bear:
shafted in singapore as in.. old lady falls and the family takes her to the hospital..
doc says: take her home.. and he did that without even looking over at the old lady
the old lady is in agony and there are signs of something wrong.. she threw up at home and on the way to the hospital.. and isn't in total control of her limbs
friends insisted that something is wrong and had to threaten the doctor..
the old lady was then grudgingly admitted.. after a day of the doctor not doing anything, again, the same song and dance of "take her home"
more threats... a scan later, they found a skull fracture in the old lady...
after treating her for it, the hospital administration tried to get her out of the hospital into another place because she would then be charged full fee there for recovery instead of a subsidised rate in the hospital..
that's what i mean by bean counters taking over..
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All the same everywhere now. See what I mean by magic phrase? If you know something is wrong and you ought to be treated - you make noise.
If she is well enough to go home, she goes home . if she is not , then I say that is wrong.
I worked in a public hospital in Australia before. I see alot of elderly dumped there by their families when they decide to go on holiday , some get hospital infections ( hospital is super bug palace in the air , on the ground everywhere) and they die from it - hospital gets the blame.
The other side of the story if the patient is not discharged when well and ready to do so , other patients who need the beds just lie in trolleys in EDs . Have you seen trolley lines? I seen them lined up in corridors. Why? Because some family probably wanted to save on respite care and decide to use the "free hospital stay". So those with more urgent medical problems end up waiting in corridors because of these selfish bastards. I worked in a medical ward where at least 60% of the inpatients can be dischardged but family is racking up excuses after excuses . One I remembered had this one memorable fabulous reason " don't bother calling us, we are on our cruise for 3 weeks" ....another winner was " I am going on holiday overseas for 2 weeks- can't look after her" . That is how I see the heavily subsidised Australian beds abused.
Somethings are unfair yes ....in healthcare ....very difficult to say because of the economics and ethics involved in protecting a human life. -
yeah..
i find it very strange that if it is like that everywhere (notwithstanding the "throw at hospital to go on holiday" ) why doesn't the gabraments do something about it?
here, the gabrament is happy throwing away tons of money paying useless charlatans who pose as "consultants" while squeezing the people and cutting back on basic health care...
there, is probably the same...
i dare say everywhere it's almost the same story..
what scares me is that in singapore, they are talking about increasing the population.. if health care is already working beyond its capacity, when does it explode? -
Wah - Wtf is happening?Originally posted by the Bear:could it be that they don't trust the gabrament hospitals anymore?
i went to the gabrament polyclinic with a slipped disc so that they can refer me to the gabrament hospitals... the pain was so bad i could not stand straight... i was supposed to wait 3 to 4 months for a visit to the orthopaedic specialist..
i accepted that as i could see the lady at the polyclinic tried her best..
the next day, the pain was so intense i could not get out bed.. somehow i crawled to the A&E.. the doc at the A&E was literally screaming into the phone but could not get me an appointment with the orthopaedic and i had to wait for a week.. so she pumped me full of painkillers, apologised to me and said i had to go home..
now.. if i had been wheeled into Gleneagles, i'd be treated right? but i'd have to declare bankruptcy after that..
does that answer your question why Gleneagles? -
There is no perfect system . USA has the best advanced medical technology yet the way they take care of their lower socioeconomic classes are shocking as you can in Hurricane Katrina. Australia has a health for all system yet there are waiting lists and some of their hospitals ( especially rural and regional) are shocking in terms of technology and staff shortages. UK NHS has already broken down so many times that it is not funny.Originally posted by the Bear:yeah..
i find it very strange that if it is like that everywhere (notwithstanding the "throw at hospital to go on holiday" ) why doesn't the gabraments do something about it?
here, the gabrament is happy throwing away tons of money paying useless charlatans who pose as "consultants" while squeezing the people and cutting back on basic health care...
there, is probably the same...
i dare say everywhere it's almost the same story..
what scares me is that in singapore, they are talking about increasing the population.. if health care is already working beyond its capacity, when does it explode?
Let me explain why : Pharmaceutical companies and Medical Technology companies are capitalist corporations . The latest pill or tool comes out - they charge a bomb for it. A patent lasts for 20 years so they put an exorbitant pricing on it. Who are buying these technologies? Most developed nations because their government cannot ignore the cry of the people for it. Take Herceptin (the breast cancer drug) for an example , around 60 k AUD for a treatment regiment . And the Big Pharma exploits the fact that it is the new miracle cure ...so you have women with families trying to sell their houses for it and Big Pharma doesn't care as long as you can pay. They say they have to cost it because of their R&D investments. So what happens - onus is thrown to government ? I don't blame people for turning to all avenues to save their own lives. I would do it too ! I would expect the government to save my miserable ass if there is an expensive cure which I cannot afford but could save my own life .....when I think of all the taxes I pay !
Not only on the Pharma and Tech side , you have people shameless exploiting public systems for their own good as in Granny Dumping cases or FREE DRUGS!
And plus you have a shortage of doctors and nurses world wide now. Why? To be a doctor now , you risk negligence charges so you have to pay professional indemnity fees . In Australia , professional indemnity for general surgeons cost 3 months of their pay in total - higher for the plastic surgeons. If they are getting sued - the cost rises after settlement. They cannot afford to pay so they quit and do lecturing.
In USA , doctors and nurses get sued all the time. Nursing is no glamour job so not many want to do it . Most people think because you are a doctor or a nurse, you should forgo the money to help - then what about their living expenses , professional insurance?
Things are worse for the consultants in private practice- they have equipment purchased from Big Tech Companies and to maintain them is very costly ( because those are diagnostic/treatment tools and you do not want just any ordinary mechanic or electrician to fix or check it) . They have to get insurance for those equipment as well. Then 2 years later, the tech company says WE HAVE THE LATEST and BETTER VERSION PLUS we placed a time limit on how long we can maintain your equipment since it is going to be obselete ... so they have to upgrade which means money. So let's throw in maintenance costs!
For hospitals , they have to get their own biomedical engineers on call all the time and upgraded to maintain so many equipments in good condition. All these machines need to be checked for errors since they are involved in saving human lives.
And let's not even talk about supplies! Paper work very important to prevent court cases - so let's add even MORE paperwork
So unless you want a third world country hospital - you pay to keep hospitals up and running plus continual upgrade and maintenance of their technology .
The only non essentials you can get rid of are the hospital administrators and CEOs who are overpaid IMHO. They are a waste of space. PLUS the overpaid health 1 million dollar a year minister with lifelong pension ... Win already lor .... -
Fymk, I do not want to get into a slagging match and I hope you do not take this the wrong way.
You seem to know alot about how a healthcare system works but do you realize that you are diverting attention from the issues that the TS wants to look at, namely, Why medisave doesn't do what it says on the tin, why polyclinics are charging so much more for medicine, and why doctors are able to get away with arbitrarily billing their clilents? -
There's no point arguing abt tis topic of subsidys or whatsoever from our farking good govt.Originally posted by fymk:My mom has her illnesses and she chooses to go to restructured hospitals and the polyclinic . So far , she just hates waiting to see them but still she won't go to private doctors . Private doesn't mean the best since she nearly got dosed wrongly by the private doctor until I checked her prescription dose.
Besides the point , let's put it this way . If I wanted to best care possible for my own mom , I would send her to USA for treatment. So am I allowed to claim subsidy for that as well? Singapore General Hospital is quite well known for their cardiothoracic surgeons and I would say practice makes perfect. With them yanking out diseased arteries everyday ....why won't it make them the best?
Yes the amount CPF returned is worse than a private health insurance company . Maybe 4k or so would have been good.
And everything is the joke really - they give you 200 dollars then they take back 400 dollars through indirect taxes - go complain to the 66.6% voters who gave them the strong mandate to rule .
The point here, the victim is only for asking for reasonable insurance coverage for his mother-in-law...anything wrong with it? S$50,000.00 bill and only paid S$1384 from medishield...what a joke!!! -
From what i gather, it seems that in order to get thru the system, you have to know the system inside and out.
For some, it means you have to suffer the misfortune of enduring the long wait followed by the undignified 'throw-out", only to learn that you need a referral from another medical center to be entertained.
On the other hand, learning from experiences and reading up all the procedural processes from pamphlets and guides, one MIGHT be able to beat the system, assuming their command of the language is astute and they are able to read between the lines.
My friend once remarked to me that juggling multiple loans simultaneously such as housing, car and various financial backpayments is a challenge but can be overcome easily so long as one reads the market well and knows where the 'loopholes' are, seeking out the best credit lines etc (0% interest if possible). Unfortunately, not everybody can comprehend the complexity of legal lingo and permutate the best combination.
Is seeking help supposed to be this difficult?