7/15/2013

Vivian Balakrishnan: Help hold down health costs

Vivian spoke to a batch of graduating medical students about the higher callings of medicine and the need to hold down medical costs. Though the call is genuine it is only going to be another vain effort just like the rising cost of properties and the general high cost of everything.
 

The high medical cost is something that the new graduates cannot do anything about. They are like someone caught in a high speed treadmill and unable to stop running. The high cost is partly contributed by their seniors in the profession who more or less set the standard for pricing their expertise. But they too are victims of a vicious cycle of high inflation.
 

Who is the culprit for high and ridiculous medical cost? The medical professionals have to foot the bills for their practices and also to earn enough to live well and with dignity. A large portion of their cost is property cost either in rentals or in acquiring the property for the practice. And property is also needed for the medical professionals to live well. In other words, the main culprit is high property prices. Who is the bugger causing high property prices?
 

And there is a whole lot of other prices and costs going up and passed to the consumers. The high cost of owning a few luxury cars, the expensive lifestyle and holidays etc etc will be borne by the consumers for sure. The sad part is that many consumers of medical services are the average Sinkies that barely have $10k in their savings and medical bills can come to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands.
 

How can medical cost be brought down? How can young medical graduates help to bring down medical cost when they have to quickly earn enough to cover their investments in the medical education and the overheads, properties for practice and living, and all the trimmings of a good life they are looking forward to? We cannot expect the doctors to live poorly can we?
 

What has happened to this noble profession that was once so highly regarded to one that is no different from another money making profession? Who contributed to this devious state of affair? It is easy to make such a call to keep medical cost down, or any cost down. Does the high inflationary system allow it to happen? Who is responsible for the high inflationary system?

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

How can graduating medical students hold down costs?
Work for free like Vivian Balakrishnan?
And how will the new doctors repay their university loans?
NUS will forgive their loans is it?
And how will the new medical doctors pay their HDB shophouse rents on their clinics.
HDB give free rentals is it?

The answer is:
Why not?
Why cannot?

Anonymous said...

UNCLE

I 100% agree with u.

With high rental and property prices, high basic car prices and a study loan to payback with interests, how these medical graduates going to reduce medical costs. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!

Anonymous said...

Very easy to talk cock and sing song.

Anonymous said...

In fact doctors in Govt hospitals are the lowly paid professional among their peers!

Anonymous said...

MR GAN....pls look into the salary of the all doctors in Govt hospitals now ......

Anonymous said...

If the doctors in Parliament are not doing anything about it, what makes you think that the doctors "out there" can do anything? Talk cock, sing song. Integrity, my ass!

Anonymous said...

ANYONE?.....

WHAT IS NOT EXPENSIVE IN SINGAPORE?

Anonymous said...

Why NUS Vice Chancellor never go to parliament and give lecture to our MPs and Ministers:
"Help Hold Down The Cost of Gahemn"

Anonymous said...

Why NUS Vice Chancellor never go to parliament and give lecture to our MPs and Ministers:
"Help Hold Down The Cost of Gahmen"

Anonymous said...

Do u have a new job for him......

CHEERS........

Anonymous said...

One way to reduce medical and health costs in Singapore:

To be a politician in Singapore, you don't need to be a doctor first.
Waste a lot of money training you to be a doctor.
Then you change profession to be a politician for higher pay.
University medical education is highly subsidized by Singapore taxpayers you know.
You deprived another student of his place in NUS medical school, who has no ambitions of becoming a politician and Minister.
Now we have one less doctor in Singapore.
And one very expensive Minister instead.

Ah Loong.
Can you try to have fewer Ministers-Without Portfolios and fewer Ministers-in-the-Prme Minister's Office or not?
How many you need anyway?
So many needed to investigate a $7,000 ceiling cleaning at a hawker centre is it?

Anonymous said...

It is difficult to solve the problem of high medical costs in Sinkieland.

As difficult as the problem of no other political party which is as strong as or stronger than the PAP.

In fact, having one stronger than WP is already very difficult, let alone as strong as PAP.

Therefore, high medical costs will most likely remain so just as PAP will most likely win again come GE 2016.

Really difficult lah, maybe even impossible to solve.

Anonymous said...

Please be kind. The govt is working very hard but did not know why the cost of living is so high and why medical fee is so high.

And it thinks, sure Vivian is speaking on behalf of the govt, that the cost is due to new medical graduates and telling them not to raise medical cost is the answer.

Anonymous said...

Education Minister in giving a summary on the National Conversation said we should go back to kampong day by making all Singaporeans one family.
We should; let us go back to basic, maybe Minister Heng can get Ang Hak Seng to help him make it happens. Ang is loud, loves the camera and hence make him a very suitable person to galvanize the Sinkies. Better if Ang also becomes a parliamentarian; think he will be more motivated.
Whether or not Sinkies will like his(Ang) affable smile is hard to tell, hopefully they will not be put off by it.
Anyway, medical professionals swear to Hippocratic Code of Conduct and were considered ' 医者父母心' historically/socially, they will behave well. Some could have ' 菩萨行(心) ' in their conducts to do all they could to help others. This me am very sure.
Anyway, as Uncle Redbean had disserted; the medical professionals are themselves victims of high costs of rental and living like other Sinkies. Got to understand their situation too.
Right?

agongkia said...

Of course medical cost can be can be cut down.Firstly consider to tell those GP or doctors to sell Viagra cheaper and not to take advantage of those ah Lau who may not have many years to enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Viagra cannot and should not be cheap, otherwise the ah Lau will f around!

Anonymous said...

>>Viagra cannot and should not be cheap, otherwise the ah Lau will f around!

Same as no subsidy for public transport else old folks will make unnecessary travel according to our ah gong?

Anonymous said...

If you pay the old men million dollar salary.
They will not fool around with PRC mei mei.

"Founder of modern Singapore".
Is thy name hypocrisy?

b said...

He always open his stinky mouth without thinking just like he overspent the yog budget without knowledge. Do not be taken in by this snakeoil salesman in a polished suit.

Anonymous said...

Satan is asking Singaporeans to do good, be merciful and care for the poor.

Uniquely Singapore!

Anonymous said...

Who say things are expensive?

Just look at property. Property must be very CHEAP! Because after 7A rounds of cooling, sales still very UP! Who say property is expensive?

HaHaHa .......

Anonymous said...

Khaw and the PAP must be very happy to hear that.

Anonymous said...

Who say PAPigs are hypocrites?

Just look at PAPigs' track record. PAPigs must be very GOOD! Because after 48 years, PAPigs is still the ruling party. Who say PAPigs are hypocrites?

HaHaHa .......

Anonymous said...

It is goooooooooooooooood!

b said...

VB and his elite party just wanted to distract and divert attention for his incompetency and disability in handling the dengue (e.g. his failed inspection dept) and haze (e.g. masks) issues. WP should just ignore him and press him on these two issues that not only affected one GRC but all the GRCs. Better still, bring up the YOG issue as well.

Anonymous said...

Vivian poking who again.

Apart for addressing neighbor rental price,
Govt should look for more generic and alternate medicine.

Is not medicine sell here much higher than across the cross-way?

Finally find ways reduce expose to toxic emit from local and overseas!

Anonymous said...

CARS AND PROPERTIES ARE EXPENSIVE ???

CAR PRICES NEAR RECORD HIGH..... PEOPLE STILL BUY THEM ....

PROPERTY PRICES EXTREMELY HIGH, SALE VOLUMES AT RECORD HIGH....

SO ARE THEY CHEAP OR EXPENSIVE...

WHAT SAY U?

Anonymous said...

Didn't VB know that one of his cabinet colleagues got a bypass operation for a princely sum of $8? Could someone compile a dossier for him please.

The said...

/// Anonymous said...

One way to reduce medical and health costs in Singapore:

To be a politician in Singapore, you don't need to be a doctor first. ///

Who says health cost is expensive in Singapore? Why, a heart operation only cost $8 - where else in the world can you find so cheap hear operation?

Yes, we should ban doctors from becoming politicians - the expensive cost of training all go to waster.

Anonymous said...

So difficult meh?

Dont fall sick lah, then no need to spend money. Expensive or not, not important lah.

Anonymous said...

So difficult meh?

Dont fall sick lah, then no need to spend money. Expensive or not, not important lah

SO REMAIN HEALTHY !

b said...

This is what pap system is all about. Rob the lifetime earning of middle and lower class people (including their medical costs) to maintain the lifestyle of the elite class. When will the daft people ever learn?