1 in 2 subsidised hospice patients will pay less after govt subsidy revision

04/09/2009
By Satish Cheney/Liang Kaixin, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Come next month, one in two subsidised patients in hospices will be paying less.

The Ministry of Health is increasing its subsidy tiers from four to nine, which means there will be more subsidy levels, which translates to better savings for patients and their care givers.

This follows a similar revised subsidy introduced in the community hospitals in July.

So far, some 500 community hospital patients have benefited with total savings of about S$300,000 in their bills.

A 78-year-old man, who does not want to be named, is suffering from a terminal illness. Doctors said he has about 90 days left to live.

The man has already wiped out his Medisave and is using his daughter's account. Even though he is facing the unthinkable, he told Channel NewsAsia he is glad his children can at least save some money from the subsidy revisions.

Another patient who will benefit from the subsidy is 83-year-old Mdm Muniamah. She is suffering from cancer and has been in the hospice for some 30 days. Her family also stands to save S$300 monthly.

Mdm Muniamah's daughter, Verayee Meyappan, said: "We can save a lot every month on her medication."

The Health Ministry said coupled with the existing Medisave withdrawal limit of S$160 per day for hospice stays, many will not incur out-of-pocket expenses.

The enhanced subsidy scheme will cost the government S$500,000 more, up from the existing S$3 million.