1/20/2014

Grappling with new problems and looking for new solutions

Public transport is a serious problem with rising cost and growing number of commuters but limited lines and roads. The population growth will outrun the availability of trains and buses and will cripple the economy and social life of the citizens earlier than you think.

The bigger problem is this new demon called medical cost. The Medishield Life and all kinds of insurance are fake or insincere attempts to solve the problem. It is not solving the problem but forcing the people to pay more and creating a bigger financial problem for the people. The stone mills of housing and owning a car and now a medical stone mill to hang on the people’s neck. For the rich it is no problem. To many Sinkies it is serious problem. When you don’t have the money means you don’t have the money to pay and 10c can also be a big problem.

Life insurance is a good thing that the pioneering generation did not to protect their families in the advent of premature death and the lost of household income, or the only breadwinner. Medical insurance was a luxury or something that was a non issue, not needed in the past. There was never a need to have medical insurance until the medical profession was allowed to turn into a money spinning machine and to hold ransom on the sick, rich or poor. Today they tell you your life is priceless and so you must pay as they demand from you.

The new generations have got used to the new normal of paying for expensive medical care and for having to wait for months and years for a medical appointment. It wasn’t like that before. It should not be this way until greed took over from the top to the toe. Greed is good, so let it be, just make the people pay.

We had free medical services, even free medicine in the past when our country was far from being rich. The country was a developing nation and thrift was the order of the day. But the govt of the day could provide free medical services and you don’t have to wait for more than a few hours to be admitted into a hospital. There were few hospital beds but enough to be waiting for patients. There were few doctors but enough doctors to see the patient even on appointment basis.

We are filthy rich today, if that is the truth. We have more hospitals than the past, more doctors and specialists, and we are caught in a bind. And medical cost keeps ballooning as if a natural phenomenon, a good thing for the GDP and a good justification for those whose income depends on it.

What went wrong? Nothing? The philosophy was wrong, the policies were wrong, the mission was wrong, everything was wrong. But no one wants to know what went wrong. The only thing they know is to make the people pay and pay. If people cannot pay today, make sure they pay by instalments for the whole life. There is the Medisave Minimum Sum waiting to be milked dry. It is so convenient.

When the Medishield Life is in force, the demand for medical services will hit the roof. Why not, when everything is already paid out front? There were no medical insurance in the past and there was no over over demand for medical services. There is high manipulated population growth today, but why are medical services, facilities, professionals lacking the population growth? Who allows the cost of medical services to run wild by not manipulating it to a reasonable and humanly affordable level? The cost of medical services today is only affordable to the immortals, not ordinary human beans.

Without addressing and arresting the high medical cost, all the solutions are fake and feeble attempts to solve a real problem.

In the past, the doctors charged the patients according to their worth, not so much as according to the illness. There is some wisdom to it. Rob from the rich and pay the poor. There is another reason, the lives of the poor are less worthy and the cost of medicine could be more than the patient’s worth. How much is a down and out loser’s life worth compares to a super rich talent? The idealist and naïve will tell you that every life is valuable and priceless. Really? I choose to disagree and respect your views that all lives are priceless and must be saved and everyone must dutifully be forced to pay a ransom to be kept alive, like it or not, worth it or not.

Everyone shall be entitled to place a value on his own life and decide if he/she wants to pay the price and what price to live. It must not be a compulsion by some other beans that may have other agendas to make the poor pay for something they don’t need or cannot afford when their little money could be put to better use.

It is better to have a little money to live well than to have no money and live miserably, with no dignity.


Kopi level - Green

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The only thing they know is to make the people pay and pay."
RB

Not the only thing or even the most important thing lah.

The most important thing is they know how to design the system to make at least 60% vote for them every election and the strongest opposition themselves admitted they are not ready to be govt.

Or is it by luck, rather than by design?

But if it is by luck, how come can be so lucky for more than 45 years? Cannot be, tio bo?




Virgo49 said...

Medisave Minimum Amount is a blank cheque for the Medical authorities to milk you dry should you be warded in for hospitalization.

Sell your flat, also must top up minimum amount.

Renew your vocational license, also must top up your ooh tang amount if you ooh tang them.

Every year, the ceiling goes up higher and higher, that they transfer from your O/A or whatever A if you got not enough.

Request you to make E-statement. When you konked off of your loved ones konked off in the hospitals, beneficiaries received a lump sum award from the Board without detail breakdowns of all the As.

Medisave minimum amount all confiscated and put into common pool even if you have enough to settle the bill and still got balance.

The cruel PAP govt wants you to bear your own medical fees and required you to serve the Nation without any question.

Do not be a liability to us even we boasted that we have a Medifund to tap on.

Every year, said aiyoh not many people seeked Medifund help leh?? We have excess how many millions/billions!!!

When you applied Medifund, they said, aiyoh you have children, siblings, your grandchildren your grand chok kong medisave leh, use them first lah!!

Later, then you can come and beg us. Then, do not forget must vote for us you know. We are using the people monies to buy your votes.

Take people's backsides for their faces. Same as transport vouchers, must come and beg us for assistance. We fee great to belittle you.

Anonymous said...

Maybe 60% can more than afford and also happy to pay and pay?

60% is a very important number in a democratic system with elections. And with a properly design system called GRCs, this will translate into 93% seats in a General Election.

Once this is achieved, all other things are secondary, eg pay and pay, too many foreigners, high prices even for HDB pigeonholes etc etc.

Virgo49 said...

When you checked in after waiting for three to six hours for a bed in the slaughter you no see blood hospital, they would exclaimed, you want to claim medishield or not??

Nodded your head, and they keyed in to check your balances.

Wah Piang, hoo say liao! this fella still got twenty to thirty thousands in medisave funds.

On top of this, still got medishield first class cover, got rider some more.

Wah, good customer!! Put a mark there. White horse.

After discharge, must bill BIG BIG man, do not give chance.

We work in cahoots with the Insurance Agencies, After-all, you got buy insurance what, better sharpen the knives.

Then the Insurance Agencies will say, aiyoh must increase premiums, lots of claims you know.

Anonymous said...

How much money pay for the profit-sharing schemes 2011 and how to spent in 2016 profit sharing schemes later?

How much is the CPF locked up schemes for life,is there no other ways except locked up schemes?

They among the most talented and highest pay in the world, can only think of this scheme to locked up people hard earned money for life?

If ladies to spend their money for the Batam should prevent them to go not to lock up everyone CPF, majority need to put aside their bank in case of crisis?

Don't try to problem solved by increasing the indirect taxes, everytime?

We know you got the highest pay in the world need to maintain, but can you lower your pay to competitive to the Nordic, New Zealand and Swiss minister level to solve the problems?

Now with more foreigners coming and became newer and newer citizens the chance of them and their children job taken away is higher and higher? And depress, stagnant pay?

More supply reduce demand?

With the adding of 30k new citizens per year to 2030 another 1.6 million people to the population to 2030?

Anonymous said...

"The only thing they know is to make the people pay and pay."
RB

What do you expect from a political party founded by a Chinese guy who worked as a "translator" for the Japanese Imperial Army in World War Two?

How far will you go to defend their million dollar salaries and million dollar homes?

How far will you go to follow the orders of your Millionaire Generals?

Anonymous said...

Your pay a bit higher then the ministers of Nordic, New Zealand or Swiss still salaries is still ok , not 9 or 10 times higher incredible?

If the Nordic and Swiss ministers can run their countries so well with this type of salaries why can't you all?

Singapore is a little island with no resources? The lower income pay had been depressed for years because you want the highest salaries in the world? And the inflation is getting higher by the days?

Much need to generate the type of revenue to pay yourself the highest salaries, through keep find ways to develop schemes to pay yourself?

Do you know keep increase the foreigners affecting the birthrate, job prospect of the local citizens and their children future? As oversupply of cheap labour affect the new citizens and local jobs in the future?

The said...

You call that problems??? Just look at this problem - according to the CIA World Factbook, Singapore's external debt is US$1.174 trillion!!!


What kind of collateral does Singapore have to be able to borrow this gigantic amount? Gee, the CIA has goofed royally.

Check out the link under "Economy":

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html

Anonymous said...

Hsien loong... KNNBCCB, stop your fucking devious actions

Repent n seek salvation with kong hee.

Anonymous said...

The debt consisted to mainly CPF money and has been wiped away with high housing prices and whatever left over could be gone when Medishield Life is in force.

Now you know what this Medishield Life is for, to protect Sinkies from high medical fees lah.

b said...

The Brunei king can provide free medical because he loves his people. Can a traitor love his people? A traitor only betrays his people.