8 in 10 hospital bills cost less than $100 in cash payment

SIGNIFICANT SUBSIDIES for hospitalization bills in subsidised wards.

The Government provides 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝟖𝟎% for both the surgical procedure and daily hospital charges which include any number of tests, scans and rehab services which may be required as part of the treatment episode.

Medishield Life is targeted at helping patients with more costly bills.

For hospitalization involving a more complex surgical procedure, Medishield Life will cover about 15 to 20% of total bill in a subsidised ward on average while Medisave pays for about 5 to 10%. 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝟑% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡.

For example, an average subsidised bill for a heart artery by-pass surgery - a much more complex surgery - could cost probably about $33,000 before subsidy where MediShield Life pays for about $7,300, MediSave covers about $1600 and the patient pays for the remainder of about $200 cash.

So the bulk of it is still taken care of by subsidies.

So overall, for all treatments including less complex surgeries, 8 in 10 subsidised hopitalisation bills incurred by Singaporeans cost $100 or less in cash.