Subsidy gives the poorer a choice

Government funds lead more to private centres

SINGAPORE // Tucked away in one of the poorest parts of Singapore is the Manhattan Medical Centre – a 52-square-metre private general practice that is nearly always a hive of activity.

More than half of the patients who come here are over the age of 50, and they typically come from the lower to middle-income households in the nearby Jalan Kukoh neighbourhood.

Considered the so- called “sandwiched middle class”, they make up about 60 per cent of the population, and are neither rich enough to be unconcerned about costs nor poor enough to be eligible for full subsidies.

They have been the target of many healthcare benefits released by the government since 2012.

“In the past, for me as a GP clinic in the ‘slum’ of Singapore, I was already charging very low rates,” said Dr Goh Wei Leong, 57, who has run the centre for 30 years.

“Now the actual cost to the patient is even lower because of the government subsidies.”

Dr Goh’s clinic is one of 1,500 privately owned clinics in Singapore that provide primary healthcare to 80 per cent of the population. The remaining 20 per cent go to government-run clinics known as polyclinics, which charge less.

“The polyclinics were bursting,” said Dr Goh. The new subsidies encouraged more polyclinic patients to switch to private clinics.

At government hospitals, patients can choose non-subsidised treatment, known as private care, or varying levels of subsidised care. Treatments and medicine are the same but amenities and costs differ. Sheralyn Ong, 42, chose subsidised care at the government- owned hospital when she discovered she had breast cancer three years ago.

“I think medical expenses are totally exorbitant if you go the private route but if you go the subsidised route, a lot of consultations and medications and treatments are subsidised quite well by the government,” the financial analyst said.

Ms Ong was cleared of cancer after 10 months of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and did not have to pay anything as her employer’s medical insurance paid the costs not covered by the government.

“I have no complaints about Singapore health care,” she said. But not everyone agrees. “Singapore is very expensive,” said a 50-year-old Singaporean taxi driver who did not want to be identified. “If I get warded in hospital, that is going to be very expensive.”