The healthcare system in Singapore is supervised largely by the ministry of health, the government of Singapore. The system is operated smoothly by the government but is funded by the public. Some private players are present in the picture too. Because of the prominence of health and well-being in Singapore, a clinic near by gives several results.
Understanding the financial status of Singapore’s healthcare sector
As mentioned above, the healthcare sector of Singapore is hugely publicly-funded. The funds are given back to the public through some healthcare schemes. Some examples of such schemes include Medishield Life, Medisave, Medifund. For the private players, the government overlooks the costs without much intervention.
There is a beautiful combination of nationalized life insurance policies and CPF or Central Provident Funds. For the insurance schemes, money is deducted from the savings lot. Also, the CPF is a privilege for working and permanent residents of Singapore.
The various healthcare schemes
The top healthcare schemes in Singapore are MediSave, MediShield Life, CareShield Life, and other subsidies.
- MediSave
This scheme is basically about opening a medical savings account. This saving account is opened under one’s CPF account. The best thing about this scheme is that the funds of one person can be used for the treatment of a family member too. These funds can cover hospitalization charges and insurance.
- MediShield Life
It was launched in 1990 and is a scheme for people with little savings who can not afford medical expenses. This scheme was further revamped in 2015 and reducing the payment rate co-insurance to 3 to 10%. This scheme covers hospital bills and some other selected treatments. An Integrated Shield Plan includes the benefits of the scheme and private insurance. The private insurance agencies operating, in this case, are authorized by the government of Singapore.
- CareShield Life
It is an insurance scheme meant to help in case of disabilities. It covers private nursing expenses and other related costs of treatment. Since 2002, people with a MediSave account and above 40 are directly enrolled in this scheme. Currently, the scheme is provided by private insurance agencies. But, the government plans to take over this came for or no-profit purposes.
The health care system of Singapore is one of the most successful and smoothly running in the world. If one searches for a clinic near by, they can see how well-maintained the network is. This well-thought-out system ensures facilities for everyone while looking out for possible overuse of healthcare resources.
