4/28/2008
Addressing higher payments instead of cost
By 1 Dec the basic Medishield premium will just go up. It will just go up, like it or not, object or not. It has so been decided. And it is so cheap, $1 more a month for the young and only $40 a month for those above 80. Hey that is $480 more a year above what they are paying now.
This is what happens when you have no control over your CPF or Medisave. A ruling, and your money disappears.
No one is interested in addressing the cost of medical fees but on how to make you pay. How much will Medishield be expected to pay out? ICU claims from $200 to $900, surgical implants like pacemakers and hip replacement form $2,500 to $7,000. Or not happy can opt out. Can anyone afford to opt out and risk being bankrupted with this kind of medical fees?
The increase premium also means that the patients are now able to afford to pay more. This also means that hospital can also afford to charge more. But no sweat. According to one reitiree who was so glad, he said he did not feel any pinch because the premium was paid by his Medisave.
My 85 year old mum was even happier. She said it was free. No need to pay because CPF was paying. But for the millions of CPF account holders, millions were paid from their CPF, like it or not, use it or not. Everyone is paying in advance. So cheap.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Private insurance.
Because state-run insurance doesn't work.
we are falling into the same trap americans have fallen into. higher medical fees, higher insurance payout, higher premiums, higher medical fees, higher payouts, higher premiums....
Are you surprised, Redbean ? Singapore has always been the numero uno when it comes to licking Uncle Sam's backside. I would say it is just desserts.
this insurance thing is going to snowball the cost of medical fees and insurance premium for sure.
In the era of fiat papaer money and its consequence of inflation, it is logical to assume insurance premiums will rise.
So fucking what?
Fuel is also rising, and so is food. And like healthcare, they are 'economic goods" which are important to human life.
People will have to earn more, or review their "priorities". No one, unless one is filthy rich, is immune from this, and as rational adults we just adjust ourselves.
UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE fails whenever it is tried. Although it might seem to "work" for awhile, in the medium to long run it always ends up a big mess.
There is no other option but tofree the market as much as possible--which has happened but not quite fast enough.
For e.g.,
1) you don't need to pay the full consult to receive a jab from a doctor. A nurse or medical orderly could do the job just as well for a lower price to the consumer.
2) You don't need to see a doctor for every complaint. Self-medicate. So free upthe regulation for pharmaceuticals.
3) Allow easier entry into the healthcare market for naturopaths, Traditional Chinese Medicine, etc.
All the above have been done and are ongoing---anything which frees up the market from domination or near-monopoly by "western" medicine is a good thing.
Further de-regulation:
1) Get rid of the FDA, mainly in the US, but also the local equivalents. Thesecan be replaced by free market "accreditation" agencies--more than one--to allow competition and to lessen mistakes. When the FDA makes a mistake (they have) it is disasterous. having more than one agency--private enterprises--menas that they'll have to compete for reputation, and they'll earn their respective reputations fair and square.
2) Allow more foreign doctors into the local market.
3) Privatise as much as possible, and as quickly as possible (without severe disruption)
Post a Comment