7/29/2013

A brilliant solution to shortages of hospital beds

An American associate professor, Sean Flynn, is so impressed with our medical and healthcare system that he is going to use our system as the model to reform the US system. Actually no system is as expensive as the American system and thus must be better. The professor also acknowledged that a big problem facing our system is the shortage of hospital beds. His natural reaction is prices as our hospital beds must definitely be cheaper than those in the US and there is a lot of room for the price to go up.
 

I quote the professor, ‘One way to get rid of the shortage of B1 beds would be to raise the price…But this is difficult for politicians to do and if they had to vote on it every year, politicians don’t like to raise the price of anything. So a simple way to solve this problem is to just have everything indexed to inflation, so the prices of things would just go up automatically every year.’ I must say this is a brilliant idea and it only takes a foreign professor to teach us how to do it.
 

Wait a minute, I thought we did something very similar, like the minister’s salaries being pegged to the market, like HDB prices being pegged to market price, and so on and on. And the salaries and prices just go up automatically. No need to vote in Parliament to raise salaries and housing prices.
 

Now who is learning from whom on this brilliant idea? The unmentioned effect of hospital bed priced to inflation is that those who cannot afford it just don’t use it. Thus the demand will definitely come down. In fact this solution should be extended to all medical services and healthcare, then the queue for medical services will be shortened. And the undertaker’s business will flourish as more will not be able to afford medical treatment and can go to see their maker earlier. This makes great economic sense. The sick will save on the money that they would otherwise have to pay to the hospitals. The rich who can afford the higher price services will have all the services at their convenience as long as they can pay for them. Utilitarianism at work, pragmatism at work, economics at work, and prudence at work and the result is simply an efficient and effective healthcare service.
 

What say you? I really like this recommendation.

16 comments:

  1. Everywhere I go, I hear people sing. They sing not the national day songs but songs of struggle and sorrow.

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  2. 2.51pm, correction. 60% singing national day songs, only 40% singing of struggle and sorrow hor. In PE, 43% so don't anyhow say ok.

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  3. An easier solution, just up the fee by 50% and the shortage will go away immediately.

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  4. Anon 3.02

    Thank you for yr reminder...........

    But, some of the 60% are regretting now and have started singing the songs of struggle and sorrow..........

    CAN U HEAR THEM ????????

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  5. 3.02 pm I don't know lar. Only the next BE or GE then we know lor Tio Bo?

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  6. Redbean
    Are you sure this American professor is not a PAP member?
    Maybe honorary member?

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  7. There is no need for any professor to deal with the Problem.
    All the Government needs to do is to allow only SINGAPOREANS to be admitted into STATE RUN HOSPITALS.
    IS THIS VERY DIFFICULT?

    patriot

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  8. shortage of hospital beds?
    simple lah.
    say no to 6.9 million.

    with a smaller population;
    there will be plenty of hospital beds for everybody.

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  9. Woah! Such a tiny problem and they need to get an alien professor to tell us the solution?
    What's the Whole Cabinet of super talents good for?
    Go to Bedok South Secondary or Changkat Changi Secondary Schools, very sure dozens of pupils in these schools will be able to come up with a good report and solution.
    WTF.

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  10. The CPF minimum sum is on auto increase every year. No need parliement debate.

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  11. The solution is so shallow.

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  12. @redbean:

    >> What say you? I really like this recommendation.


    Since I am no supporter of socialised medicine, I'll say that this is a good move. Scarcity has to attract a higher price otherwise there will eventually be the tragedy of the commons.

    One thing the prof is correct: Singapore's public health care system is about a good as it gets -- i.e. it is WORLD CLASS. No only that -- it is very affordable too. Is it sustainable? Don't know.

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  13. Wait till they slam you with a $100k bill then you know.

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  14. Things will naturally goes up and up with the 6.9 millions population increase . When supplies follow behind demands .... so this is supply and demand theory we learn in school .

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  15. The last time we are told by the ruling government that they'd do not have a 20/20 vision . So this time with the projected target of 6.9 million population from the white paper , there should not be any excuse this time around .

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