Health care – Please don’t help us

It has never failed. When the Govt said it is going to help you, be frighten, be very frighten. The Govt is going to help the people with a life time health care scheme. That is the good news. The bad news, you are going to pay for it dearly. It cannot be for free right? And there is no escape this time. It is going to be compulsory! Imagine the frustration over the years when Medishield cannot be made compulsory? Now with this ‘the Govt will help you Medishield Life’ it is now compulsory. And the premiums to pay for health care for life, I can’t imagine how much it is going to cost. The minister has said that it will be ‘affordable’, another very frightening word. We all know what affordable means to the average Sinkies and what affordable means to the rich and powerful. And the assurance that those who cannot afford to pay will be subsidized is not too much of an assurance either. How poor would one has to be before one is qualified for subsidies?
 
What are the statistics for Singaporeans to live to 70, 80, 90 and above 100? What kind of sicknesses were they hit and how big were the bills? At the moment the number for the oldies seeking major ops or expensive ageing related sicknesses could be relatively low. Many would rather die than to live on and on like the undead or vampires. The statistics would not be a true reflection of the reality as many could not afford to see the expensive treatments in the hospitals. But once there is such a medical coverage for life, many oldies will be demanding to want to be treated with no consideration to the prohibitive cost. It is free in a way with insurance coverage. Why not? How would this snow ball into an insatiable demand for more medical services?
 
When is the Govt going to accept that when one gets old, one must die? When is the Govt going to accept that many oldies cannot afford to grow old or did not want to grow old and live a life like walking corpses? There must be a clear definition of the kind of coverage under Medishield Life for the insurers to pay for, a ceiling on what is payable. It cannot be an open book and a blank cheque with the insurers footing every bill. If so, the cost would simply be passed down to the insured at great cost.
 
I hope the Govt would seriously reconsider this clever idea so that the people would have a choice to pay or not to pay. If it is so good, please make it optional and for all the rich to opt for it and for those who have reasons to want to live forever to pay for it themselves. Do not pass the financial burden to the innocent and the young and the majority that do not want it nor would appreciate it. Do not prevent people from dying. Dying naturally is a privilege, a blessing, and a right of being a human. Many would love to end their pathetic lives on earth soonest, the earlier the better. It is not a luxury to live a long life when one does not even have enough to eat. Prolonging life unnaturally is only a luxury for the rich.
 
Please think carefully. Please think of what the ignoramus are asking for. It may be true that some are asking for life long medical coverage. I bet this is a minority who did not know what they are asking for. We need wisdom in this issue of life and death. It is not simply about living and about the ability to pay, through a compulsory medical insurance scheme. It is geriatric care that is needed more.
 
This Medishield Life Scheme could be a very cruel scheme to many who did not ask for it. For those who cannot afford to live a life with simple human comfort, prolonging their lives is like making them a prisoner in a sick and dilapidated ageing body. Please, don’t help the people to extend their misery and pain on earth, and to empty their savings for it. They need their savings for the simple three meals. Don’t take that away. They don’t have millions in their bank accounts to feel happy and to want to continue living. They don’t need a heart bypass or chemotherapy or a pace maker or whatever machine to replace their failing organs.
 
Remember, when one passes 70 expect to die and prepare to die. That is the normal and natural thing to do. Do not prepare and expect to live another 100 years. It is a blessing to die naturally while one is still reasonably healthy than when one is bedridden and need someone to scrub your back. You simply stink and rot while still alive. And without the money you are dependent on other people’s charity and kindness to clean you and feed you. It is not filial piety to hang on to a life and to keep a dysfunctional body alive. Paying to keep a body alive but not working is an unkind act. There is a time to let go.
 
PS. When the Medishield Life scheme is extended to 92, it means you will have to continue to pay till 92. If it is extended forever, you pay forever. Tio boh?

Hsien Loong - We are all in this together

How many of you believe that you are all in this altogether?
 
First, how much are you earning and how much is a minister earning?
Second, what kind of homes are you living in?
Thirdly, how many houses do you own?
Fourth, how many houses do you own outside of Singapore?
Fifth, how much do you have in your savings?
Sixth, what kind of jobs are you employed?
Seventh, where do you eat, hawker centre, food court or restaurant?
Eighth, where do you send your children to school?
Ninth, do you have to worry for your next meal?
Tenth, do you have to worry about your hospital bill?
 
Are we in this altogether? Other than worrying about providing for your family, do you have to worry about your children’s future?

Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally – Not enough

Heard Hsien Loong’s Rally speech and what came across were some cosmetic changes that were less than expected after the hype by Heng Swee Kiat. There were great expectations for sure but now the great disappointments. With the strong ground shift and the negative sentiments, many were thinking that this would be a good opportunity for Hsien Loong to make some dramatic changes as preparation to the GE in 2016 or a possible surprise snap election. If these were all that the govt was willing to change to redeem itself and its falling popularity, it was obvious that many would see it as plain inadequate.

First the changes on high cost of healthcare. There will be some savings for the senior citizens at the polyclinics and those using CHAS. The changes to the Medishield scheme to Medishield Life is not as good as it first appeared. This new scheme will cover all the seniors that lived past 90 and at first glance sounded very attractive. But with this sweeping coverage that most seniors would not need, many would have died, many would not need a heart by pass or major ops, the failure to fine tune the needs of the very senior citizens would mean a huge paper cost to be shared by the rest. Everyone is going to pay for it.

Is this the best shot the govt could come up with and the need to raise the premiums for Medisave? What else is new? What was sorely missing is the silence on bringing down healthcare cost. Hsien Loong touched more on how to help the seniors pay and the need to increase the premiums for Medishield. What is so good about it when the cost is passed down to everyone?

In the case of housing, those earning up to $4k monthly household income would benefit from more subsidies and a lower net purchase price for 2 to 4rm HDB flats. The prices of these flats would still be maintained at the existing levels but the net sales price would be brought down to the levels of the 2005/6. The ignoramuses were clapping in glee like it was a big savings. They could only see how high were the current prices and thought it was a big discount and were very grateful. They forgot that the prices have been inflated so high and the supposedly lower prices were still very much higher than the prices in early 2000. There is nothing surprising that these people could be so easily deceived into thinking that it was a good deal. They could only see as far as the tip of their noses.

There was nothing mentioned about removing the upper income ceilings and many high income earners would still be disqualified from buying direct from HDB. How does this fit in to Hsien Loong’s statement that every Singaporean family would be able to afford a HDB flat? How many Singaporeans would still not be able to buy from HDB? I have received comments from a young couple that they were still excluded from HDB, and there were many highly qualified young Singaporeans that would prefer to remain overseas than to return to be robbed of a million to buy private properties because of the income ceiling.

This stupid policy means that many highly qualified Singaporeans would not return and their skills would be lost, a policy that literally kept highly skilled Singaporeans away from home. Is this policy meant to be this way so that the Govt can find the excuse to bring in more Third World fake talents to replace the sons and daughters of Singapore that they have driven away?
There were the usual big plans into the future, bigger Changi Airport and two huge puzzles of land in Paya Lebar and Tanjong Pagar for more concrete buildings to house more people. Do not be happy too early if these two big complexes are meant to house the 7m or 10m population. The existing infrastructure with the upgrades would still be inadequate, particularly the roads and public transportation. There will be rooms and housing for 7m or 8m, but could there be room for them to move around? It would be good if the new spaces created were meant for the same population size, allowing more breathing space for all, better facilities and bigger leg room. Fear not, it will be for more people, for more compact living.

The changes in some of the policies were to rein in the excesses of flawed policies but not enough to bring things back to an easier way of life. And the future developments would mean the squeeze and crams and jams would be worse. The cost of living will be up and up with more people cramming up in this island when the sky is the limit for building more Towers of Babel.

Would these changes be enough to win back more confidence and more votes in 2016? I doubt so.

Aggressive intent of Japan

An aircraft carrier is banned by its pacificist constitution, so the Japanese called it a helicopter destroyer. It has a length of 248m, much longer than many aircraft carriers in service. The Japanese lied to say it could carry 14 helicopters for disaster and search and rescue missions. In reality it could easily be converted to carry and launch offensive VTOL or STOL multipurpose fighter bombers to attack any country within range. It could easily launch the latest and most sophisticated F35s the Americans are trying to sell to its allies.

Japan can continue to lie but the world is not blind. Its remilitarization and aggressive intent is evident and it poses a clear and present danger to countries in East and South East Asia. And it deliberately chooses to name the aircraft carrier/destroyer Izumo, the same name as the flagship of the Japanese fleet that invaded China in the 1930s. This and the 731 painted on the fighter aircraft that Shinzo Abe sat on cannot be pure coincident. The aircraft carrier was launched on the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to gain support and sympathetic sentiments from the Japanese people. The Japanese knew exactly what they are up to. They are rearming to resume their imperial military role of the past, maybe with the intent of avenging the atomic bombings of their country.

Japan has rearmed! And it is all done with the consent of the Americans who chose to close one eye to allow a strong military Japan to counter the rise of China. Japan and China is on a collision path, and hostility could break out between the two, only a matter of when. It may be opportune for China to think like the Americans, a pre emptive strike against Japan before it gets too powerful.

In a way God is kind, to allow Japan to rearm and to attempt another war against China, Korea and maybe even the Americans. And this war will settle all the blood debt of WW2 that Japan has yet to repay.

Solving healthcare problems?

There is a huge difference between solving high cost of healthcare and devising different ways for the people to pay for the high cost of healthcare. In the former, it is more about how to reduce the high cost of healthcare. In the later, the high cost of healthcare is taken for grant, it is a sure thing and cannot be brought down. So the trick is to tweet the mode of payment, how to squeeze money from the people to pay for the high cost of healthcare.

With the kind of premium that everyone is made to pay, especially the older folks, many are paying upfront and may not need it should they remain healthy or choose not to go for the expensive hundreds of thousands of dollars operation. And for many senior citizens, it is better to let nature take its own course when they pass 65 or 70. There is no need to cling on to life when the body is tired and wearing down. But for those who are rich or very rich and have all the money to pay for all the expensive treatment, let them choose to pay and to live forever.

If we can accept the premise that the medical insurance for the seniors, above 65 or 70, is to pay for not too serious and expensive medical treatment or major ops, to let them live with dignity with basic medical care should they be hospitalized, to make their final hours pleasant and not painful, the medical cost and insurance need not be high and can be absorbed by the govt. To go for expensive ops/treatment, hypothetically a sum exceeding $10k, let it be optional for those who want and can afford to pay for them in their own capacity.

Otherwise, with so many seniors and all demanding expensive treatment/ops, the premium is going to be unaffordable to many. There is a need to define what and how much to cover for the seniors. Perhaps the govt can provide a basic coverage, to be defined, for free. Additional coverage can be optional for those who can afford them.

With healthcare cost so prohibitive, there is a real need to streamline the expectations to suit the needs of different groups of seniors. This is the paying part, the affordability part. It is necessary for the govt to seriously put in efforts to bring down the cost of healthcare and there is no need to be extravagant in many things. There can be basic, economy and luxury class healthcare tailored for different kinds of pockets. Not everyone is financially equal and can afford to pay like a millionaire. In the days of old, the doctors billed the patient discreetly according to what they think the patient could afford. A comprehensive healthcare insurance scheme must take into account the different expectations and affordability of the insured.