Healthcare Cost Statistics in Singapore (2024)
Source: SmartWealth.sg
Published: March 17, 2024
Theme: This article explores the rising medical costs in Singapore and analyzes the average healthcare inflation rate over the past 20 years.
Core Points:
- Healthcare Inflation: The article highlights the increasing cost of healthcare in Singapore, with a 57.5% increase from 2003 to 2023.
- Average Inflation Rate: The average healthcare inflation rate over the past 20 years (2003-2023) is calculated to be 2.30%.
- Subcategories: The article breaks down the healthcare inflation rate into subcategories, focusing on outpatient services, hospital services, and health insurance.
- Comparison to General Inflation: The article compares healthcare inflation to the overall cost of living in Singapore, showing that healthcare costs are rising faster than the general cost of living.
Key Findings:
- 2023 Inflation: The healthcare inflation rate in 2023 was 4.50%.
- Subcategory Inflation: Outpatient services, hospital services, and healthcare insurance saw increases of 5.97%, 4.50%, and 3.61%, respectively, in 2023.
- Average Inflation Rates: The average healthcare inflation rate over the past 10, 20, and 30 years are 1.56%, 2.30%, and 2.27%, respectively.
- Comparison to General Inflation: The average headline inflation rate from 2003 to 2023 was 2.08%, while the average healthcare inflation rate was 2.30%.
Government Spending:
- Health Expenditure: The government spends more than $10 billion a year on healthcare.
- Expenditure Growth: Government health expenditure has quadrupled from $3.7 billion in FY2009 to $15.2 billion in FY2020.
- Focus on Primary Care: The government plans to build 12 new polyclinics, resulting in a total of 32 by 2030.
- Healthcare Worker Salaries: The government will raise the salaries of healthcare workers, including nurses.
- Financial Support for Lower-Income Households: The government will provide more financial support for lower-income households.
Hospital Costs:
- Average Hospital Bill Sizes: The average bill sizes for public and private hospitals vary significantly.
- Public Hospital Costs: The average bill size for public hospitals ranges from $1,012 to $7,876 for medical specialities and $1,638 to $10,541 for surgical specialities.
- Private Hospital Costs: The average bill size for private hospitals ranges from $3,906 to $24,687 for medical specialities and $8,109 to $18,993 for surgical specialities.
- Knee Joint Replacement Example: The article provides an example of a simple knee joint replacement, showing the variation in costs across different wards in public and private hospitals.
Critical Illness Costs:
- Top Five Critical Illnesses: The article lists the top five critical illnesses in Singapore, which account for over 90% of all critical illness claims.
- Cancer Costs: The article highlights the high cost of cancer treatment, which can range from $100,000 to $200,000 yearly.
- Heart-Related Conditions: The article provides cost estimates for heart-related conditions, including heart vessel expansion.
- Stroke Costs: The article provides cost estimates for stroke treatment, including brain blood clot or bleeding.
National Health Insurance:
- MediShield Life: Singapore's national health insurance, MediShield Life, is compulsory for all citizens and permanent residents.
- Premium Increases: Premiums for MediShield Life have increased due to rising healthcare costs and the need for more comprehensive coverage.
- Subsidies: The government provides subsidies to help offset the cost of MediShield Life premiums.
- Integrated Shield Plan (IP): Singaporeans can choose to upgrade their coverage with an Integrated Shield Plan (IP) and/or an IP rider.
- Co-Payment Riders: The article discusses the phasing out of "full" riders and the implementation of co-payment riders for IP plans.
- IP Premium Costs: The article provides an example of the average annual premium for an IP with private hospital coverage and a 5% co-payment rider.
Household Healthcare Spending:
- Average Household Expenditure: In 2017/2018, households spent an average of 5.5% of their monthly expenses on healthcare.
- Income Group Differences: The lowest 20% income group spent 7.8% of their monthly expenses on healthcare, the highest among all income groups.
- Outpatient Services: Households spent an average of $172 per month on outpatient services in 2017/2018.
Conclusion:
The article concludes that healthcare costs in Singapore are high and are likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. The article emphasizes the importance of practicing healthy living and having adequate insurance coverage to mitigate the financial burden of healthcare expenses.