Health of citizens is health of nation

We need more babies. Our TFR is falling and this is bad. Why is it bad and why do we need more babies? It is to replace the ageing population and to keep the GDP growing, period. Can we not let the population fall naturally and let the GDP shrink proportionally? Cannot, must have more babies to provide the workforce to keep the economy healthy. Babies are important to the economy. Then why should bringing up babies be the responsibility of their parents, to pay for their growing up, medical and social expenses, including education? If the govt or country needs the babies, why shouldn’t the govt pay a portion of their upbringing, including healthcare?
 
There is a 20 to 25 years of cost to grow a baby into a productive worker to feed the economy. No babies, no workers, no economy. The babies are important and so are their growing and productive years. The only time they are less productive, not useless to the economy, is when they are in their retirement years. But not working does not mean not contributing to the economy. They consume goods and services and have to pay for them. They are still contributing to the economy.
 
If the people are so important to the govt and the economy why shouldn’t the govt take care of their health and well being? Without a healthy population, there is no healthy economy. Actually, like it or not, ultimately the people pay for their health and well being. There is no other way, but only a matter of nuances. Either the people pay directly or the govt pays from the taxes collected. The taxes are public money, not someone’s money, not OPM but TPM, The People’s Money.
 
To put things simply, the govt needs the people to be healthy to contribute to the economy, to produce goods and services, to consume goods and services, to pay taxes and to pay the thing called the govt. Why should the people pay for their good health to feed the economy and to pay the govt to be the govt? It is the govt and the system that needs the people, not the other way round.
 
The prevalent thinking now is to make the people pay for their healthcare directly. Can other ways be found? The govt will claim that it has no money to pay except to increase taxes. That unfortunately is true. So how? Ask the people who are being paid millions for the solution lah. So simple also dunno. Pay them millions for what? Heheh, they will tell you the best solution is for you to pay. Problem solved.
 
Gambling income for healthcare
 
We don’t have the two casinos before. Can the taxes from the casinos be applied to provide healthcare for the people? Why should this new and additional income be spread to other uses? Why not devote this source of income to care for the people’s medical well being? Why cannot? And if not enough, why can’t we take some from the Tote Board? The health of the people is key to the health of the economy and to generate revenue to pay the people called the govt.
 
Self Insured to take away insurance cost
 
The other point is to self insure at the national level. No need to pay to a huge organization and staff to manage an insurance scheme. No need to worry about paying for the middle men and profits for the shareholders and fat bonuses to the top management. This should do away with the unnecessary insurance cost.
 
National Healthcare must be basic and limited
 
A national health scheme must be limited in nature, nothing extravagant. Such a scheme must be limited to C class equivalent of services and care. Anyone who wants better services must pay for it. And it should all be about healthcare and not cosmetic care or frivolous medical treatments. The medical professionals can list out what to be excluded from the scheme. The medicine and equipment can also be generic if available. Anything better should be over and above and be paid by the patients that demanded for them.
 
Lower cost to those who need healthcare/Pay for use
 
The operating cost of a national healthcare scheme should avoid the costly frills of extravagance. The people can then be at ease of being assured of a basic healthcare plan and they need only to pay a small fee, at outpatient poly clinics or when hospitalized. There is No need to pay upfront whether they need or do not need through insurance premiums or minimum sums in the Medisave. Free the people’s savings for more immediate needs. A national healthcare scheme should not be entirely free to avoid waste, but not so prohibitive and costly. With the bulk of the cost coming from the casinos, the amount to be paid by the patients on needs basis can be greatly reduced.
 
Option to pay for more
 
The people would also have the choice of paying for higher level of services and the frills that come with the higher fees. What should come under the national health scheme and what should not can be worked out by the professionals.
 
Recompute healthcare costing/No ransom from the sick
 
Another area to review is the computation of cost. As a national health system, items like land cost need not be included or at least not marked to market. Without a profit motive, the cost should be more of consumption, recurring operating cost and cost of replacement. No market forces or mechanism nonsense.

These are just some general thoughts for input into a national healthcare scheme. The health of the people is the concern and interest of the state and not just the individuals. The details can be worked out by the people who are paid to do the job. At the moment the minds seem fixated to a particular model already. Can the authorities explore the unbeaten path, to take a plunge into uncharted waters? No insurance premiums to be paid up front, (paid by gambling revenues) free the people from their worries of huge medical bills without ripping their pockets by all kinds of funny schemes that boils down to the same thing…make the people pay?
 
Give people the choice
 
Give the people the CHOICE to pay, not the choice on how much and when to pay or compulsory to pay with eyes fixed on the money in the Medisave of citizens? A basic national healthcare system supported by gambling revenue and without having to tax on everyone who may not need to use it must be the way going forward. The people cannot be held captive by insurance and insurance and insurance and nothing else. The people cannot be forced to pay and pay and pay, compulsory some more with no option to opt out.
 
What is the point of paying out of this world salary if they cannot come out with out of this world solution? Is it too much for the people to expect or even demand out of this world solution? Some of the features mentioned above are not even out of this world, just plain commonsense and better utilization/allocation of funds with no wasteful payments into a nation wide insurance scheme when every daft Sinkie is made to pay like Santa Claus. Paying insurance is like making everyone pay for a few who are in need. We need a scheme where the sick need not be bankrupt by hefty hospital bills and the healthy need not have to pay. Are we so bankrupt of ideas? Shall we send a few teams overseas to learn from those that are not so talented than our top talents?
 
See, no need to make everyone pay insurance premiums, no need to lock people’s savings in the Medisave Minimum Sum scheme, no need to waste manpower to have a big organization to collect and manage the money. Unless of the course the whole objective is to take more money from the people, another devious taxation under a ‘for your own good’ scheme, then no need to waste time on feedbacks or CONversation with the people. Just make Medishield Life COMPULSORY. PERIOD.