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SINGAPORE: From next month, Singapore residents can use Medisave to help pay for selected hospitalisation and day surgery overseas. Currently, they can only do so for emergency hospitalisation.
Writing in his blog, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the suggestion to extend Medisave use for hospitalisation overseas was made at a dialogue with union leaders a few years ago.
However, there were concerns with the quality of care and potential abuses that could hurt patients' interests. And the easiest thing for a regulator to do was to simply say "no" to the proposal.
But the Ministry of Health (MOH) has decided to say "yes", in order to give the idea a try. It will monitor the move and make refinements if necessary.
Mr Khaw said the upside of the extension is that it will give Singaporeans more choices and presumably cheaper options. But patients must be aware of the possible downsides, which is why MOH had reservations in the past. They should consult their family general practitioners for a second opinion.
Furthermore, Mr Khaw said that he is not in a position to say if there would be many takers for this scheme. For the subsidised patients in the public hospitals, he doubted that there will be any interest. Given the heavy subsidy, there will be no cost savings for them if they go overseas.
But even if the scheme only benefits a small number of patients, Mr Khaw said it is still worthwhile as it gives Singaporeans more choices.
For the extension, several additional conditions will apply. Medisave usage will only be limited to hospitalisation and day surgery; it cannot be used for outpatient treatment.
The overseas hospital must have an approved working arrangement with a Medisave-accredited institution or referral centre in Singapore. And the patient must be referred through a Medisave-accredited institution or referral centre in Singapore.
The local centre must provide pre-admission clinical assessment and financial counselling to the interested patient. It will be accountable for patient satisfaction and the clinical outcome.
The scheme will start off with two providers - Health Management International (HMI) and Parkway Holdings.
HMI has set up its local Medisave-accredited referral centre at its Balestier Clinic and Health Screening Centre. It will work with its two overseas subsidiaries: Regency Specialist Hospital in Johor Bahru and Makhota Medical Centre in Malacca.
Parkway Holdings has set up a Medisave-accredited referral centre at East Shore Hospital. It will partner nine hospitals under the Pantai group in different states of Malaysia, as well as the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Those interested in making use of this scheme may approach the two healthcare providers directly.
- CNA/sc
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