SINGAPORE — Acknowledging that Budget measures to help Singaporeans meet the rising healthcare costs could lead to a spike in demand and result in costs going up further, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday his ministry is looking to manage the situation — in particular, the demand for hospital care amid the ongoing bed crunch.
Apart from doing more in the areas of step-down care and home care, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will seek to ensure that only patients who are assessed by medical professionals to require acute care will remain in hospitals.
Speaking to reporters after the recording of the Budget Forum in Mandarin organised by MediaCorp, Mr Gan said: “One important aspect the Ministry of Health is looking at is how to manage healthcare costs, because with more funding, the risk is it will drive up demand. If we want to manage costs, we have to look at a holistic approach.”
Among the strategies that the MOH will be adopting is “proper gatekeeping to ensure that access to high-end acute care is on a needs basis, assessed by medical professionals … if you do not need to be in an acute hospital, then you ought not to be in (it)”, Mr Gan said.
The MOH will also be enhancing support for community step-down care such as nursing homes and home care services. More details will be provided during the ministry’s Committee of Supply debate next month.
Last Friday, the Government continued its push to help the less well-off under measures unveiled in the Budget, with a particular focus on healthcare, which was identified as the main driver of higher social spending by Singapore over the next 10 to 15 years.
The centrepiece was the S$9 billion Pioneer Generation Package which will provide greater outpatient subsidies, Medisave top-ups and MediShield Life subsidies for seniors born in 1949 or earlier, and who became citizens before 1987. Singaporeans aged 55 and above this year who do not qualify for the Pioneer Generation Package will receive a Medisave top-up of between S$100 and S$200 a year over the next five years.
Healthcare practitioners whom TODAY spoke to agreed that the increase in government assistance could inadvertently lead to a spike in demand for hospital services. They suggested improving primary care provided by, for example, polyclinics to reduce the patient load on hospitals.
MOH statistics showed that, two weeks ago, more than four hospitals had bed occupancy rates of more than 85 per cent. The waiting times for admission also peaked at between six and seven hours for some hospitals.
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