21st January 2016
At the fourth Healthcare Infrastructure Technology and
Engineering conference, Minister of State for Health Chee Hong Tat spoke of the
necessity for Singapore to do all it can to prevent rapid healthcare costs (
refer to The Straits Times report, ‘Prevent rapid rise in healthcare costs’;
Wednesday.
I am glad that the Ministry of Health (MOH) is fully aware
that rising medical costs is a valid concern of our ageing population, and
hopefully the assurance from the newly appointed Minister of State for Health
Chee Hong Tat to ensure that healthcare remains affordable will give our
seniors much more peace of mind.
Today, another report in the same newspaper highlights how
Health Minster Gan Kim Yong wants to make healthcare affordable in the report
“Keeping S’pore healthy and boosting standards”; Thursday.
Although Medishield Life has been implemented to help
Singaporeans with their medical bills, there is still more to be done to
provide better coverage for our seniors who have little savings, cannot afford
to purchase outriders and have no income.
Poor vision or vision loss among the elderly is a major
healthcare problem and many of our seniors will require cataract operations
once they hit 60 and beyond. The most
common cause of vision loss among our elderly includes macular degeneration,
glaucoma, cataract and diabetic retinopathy.
A recent check with Tan Tock Seng Hospital revealed to my
surprise that Medishield Life does not pay a single cent for cataract
operations which cost $950 per eye.
To our seniors who have no steady monthly income and live
all alone with no family support, $950 is a huge sum. Every month, with the
cost of living skyrocketing, a senior in this group needs at least $400 a month
for his/her meals and to pay the conservancy charges and PUB which are also
going up. So to these seniors even a
medical bill of $400 is a burden.
How do you expect our elderly folks to enjoy a better quality of life, go for outings/ recreation when their vision is poor? What happens when they fall from the bus because of poor eyesight and then have to end up paying for expensive knee operations?
How do you expect our elderly folks to enjoy a better quality of life, go for outings/ recreation when their vision is poor? What happens when they fall from the bus because of poor eyesight and then have to end up paying for expensive knee operations?
Our ministers and MPs will not be able to feel the pinch of
rising medical costs because they are very well paid. But these politicians who
were elected by the very people who now require support, must never lose touch
of the ground.
In any event, what is the point of paying Medishield Life
year in and year out, in the years ahead when our seniors who contributed much
to Singapore’s economic growth cannot have any peace of mind when vision is so
important to their well being in their twilight years? More so when this group has little Medisave
in their CPF accounts, which they will undoubtedly require for other ailments
which is bound to come about due to old age. .
To this end, I appeal to MOH to relook at the payouts for
Medishield Life on eye operations for seniors commencing from the age of 60.
RAYMOND ANTHONY
FERNANDO
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