Sunday, December 9, 2007

Let Medisave be used for health screening

Home > ST Forum > Story
Dec 8, 2007
Let Medisave be used for health screening
I READ with frustration the article, 'S'poreans live longer but suffer 8 years of poor health'' (ST, Dec 3).
Dr Lam Pin Min, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, called for screening to catch problems such as diabetes and cancer early.
Three years ago, I wrote to the Forum suggesting the use of Medisave for comprehensive health-screening for those aged above 45 who have sufficient funds in their accounts.
The reply from the Health Ministry was that the Medisave scheme is designed primarily to help individuals meet their personal or immediate family's hospitalisation expenses, and that health-screening tests which are considered cost-effective, such as mammography and pap smear, are heavily subsidised at polyclinics.
Is this cheaper health-screening a comprehensive one?
What is the point of having a large amount in the Medisave and not using it for early detection and prevention?
Recently, the Government allowed Medisave to be used for certain outpatient treatments. However, this is not a preventive measure, and is too little, too late.
As not all organisations provide check-ups for staff in their 40s, the Health Ministry should encourage the middle- and lower-income group, who may have difficulties forking out cash, to go for a comprehensive screening annually by allowing the use of Medisave.
Nagarajah Sinnathurai
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_184726.html
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(#1) STTeam (Administrator) Let Medisave be used for health screening - December 08, 2007 Saturday, 01:53 AM
I READ with frustration the article, 'S'poreans live longer but suffer 8 years of poor health'' (ST, Dec 3).
STTeam Send a private message to STTeam Find all posts by STTeam
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(#2) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 10:01 AM
heartlander88: You're once again opening another pandora box where your hard-earned savings will be quickly depleted even before you fall sick. Please keep Medisave strictly for hospital expenses.It has already liberalised for many other non-hospital purposes. To allow Medisave for health screening will be another dagger plunged into the heart of our sacred CPF.
There'll be wide-spread abuses of health screening using the Medisave.There is no end to what you want to screen - from head to toe. The doctors will be too happy to screen you as often as they like.The healthcare providers will laugh all the way to the bank once Medisave is released for healthcare screening. This is a bottomless pit of healthcare spending.And when you are finally diagnosed with a disease like cancer, your Medisave is ZERO! And you'll have to pay cash for your massive and costly hospital bills which will be escalating every year.
My motto: live a simple and healthy life-style. live well when you are well. when you are terminally ill and chronically sick, accept your death sentence with graciousness and let go.no need to cling on to end-of-death life which is no life at all. so spend your inheritance and be joyful. Take care.

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(#3) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 10:20 AM
chiabb:
I disagree with heartlander's myopic view and therefore agree with Mr Sinnathurai. Screening should be considered as an integral part of our medical & health system.
How impetuous to assume that "there'll be wide-spread abuses of health screening". And how cynical to say "doctors will be too happy to screen you as often as they like".
Living "a simple and healthy life-style" is only part of the answer. Preventive screening could go along way to avert costly treatment bills in future = a greater drain on Medisave.
A proactive approach to health is wise approach.
A saying trite but true: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." (Also not updated to metric ;D)


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(#4) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:01 AM
heartlander88: #3 - agree with chiabb.
i'm not against health screening or preventive medicine. what i'm saying is do not use Medisave to pay for health screening. once this pandora box is opened,there is no end to the abuses.
health screening is quite a tricky thing. how far will you go ? how cost-effective? what are the pick-up rate for certain diseases? you can screen every year for 10 years or 20 years, nothing happen - a clean slate,perfect lab results, everything normal. then you walk out of your doctor's clinic, a very happy man, and then death strikes suddenly. you collapse with a massive heart attack or a massive stroke.
health screening is not the guarantee to longevity or good health.it's so costly and the pick up rate is so dismal and so disappointing.
my philosophy is live a good and happy life when you are well. do a discreet health screening once awhile. use your own cash. keep the Medisave for the more serious hospital treatment and investigations.
simple and health screening does not cost much.why use the Medisave?


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(#5) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:33 AM
chiabb:
#4 So we agree in principle, lah. Only not quite agree which fund should pay. That's ok :)
Perhaps I might persuade you to consider that Medisave is exactly the fund for such preventive medical screening, while Medishield is actually designed for serious/chronic illness (?)
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(#6) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:35 AM
lobo_respawned:

#5: i think it depends on whether we want to see Singaporeans can think for themselves or not. If yes, then we open it up as an option for people to use. If no, let others continue to micromanage our own money.
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(#7) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:36 AM
unewolke:
I agree with the writer. Also there are people who do not work for money for one reason or another.
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(#8) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 11:49 AM
heartlander88:

#5 yes, we do agree in principle.
but i still maintain that medisave should be kept for more serious illnesses in hospital. medisave itself might not be enough.
medishield itself is inadequate to cover hospital treatment. the top up cash can be very painful, even with medisave.
so i maintain that basic health screening for simple basic chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and heart diseases should not use medisave.
but for treatment of such diseases, the government has already approved the use of medisave. yes for treatment and management ( that includes screening and follow-up - but up to $300 a year per account per disease).
so it is rather limited as well.
i know how fast medisave can be depleted because i've a personal experience in the hospital when my mum was admitted to the hospital.my mum has to use my brother's medisave which is also fast depleting - daily!so it's better to maintain a healthy medisave for hospital treatment.
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(#9) December 08, 2007 Saturday, 04:25 PM
reginale:

I agree, we need to be preventive instead of waiting till the last minute ?

S'poreans live longer but suffer 8 years of poor health



"while Singapore does well on life expectancy charts, a different picture emerges when good health is tracked. ...
... (MOH) study confirmed that a lot of suffering and premature deaths come from diseases that could be prevented - such as heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. Some cancers too could be caught early."



Home > Most Read Stories Dec 3, 2007
S'poreans live longer but suffer 8 years of poor health
MOH study shows main causes of sickness are diseases that could be prevented early on
By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent IF YOU needed another reason to lead a healthy lifestyle, here it is: A study shows that Singaporeans may be living longer now, but they are also sick for more years than people in some other countries.
The main culprits are heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes and even mental illness.
Now, the average Singapore woman should live to 81.8, but she will spend eight of those years ill or disabled. Men too will spend eight of their 78 years in poor health.
So while Singapore does well on life expectancy charts, a different picture emerges when good health is tracked.
The Ministry of Health study confirmed that a lot of suffering and premature deaths come from diseases that could be prevented - such as heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. Some cancers too could be caught early.
The prevalence of such diseases also suggests that more should be done to tell people what they can do to save themselves from becoming ill, said Dr Lam Pin Min, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health.
He called for more public education on how these ailments can be prevented, and screening to catch problems like diabetes and cancer early.
He added: 'With early detection of diseases, prompt medical treatment can hopefully minimise illness and medical complications.'
But health authorities can only do so much, argued unionist and Health GPC head Madam Halimah Yacob. People must take ownership of their health if they want to keep such illnesses at bay.
Her advice: 'Go for regular screening, eat more vegetables, less salt and do more exercise. That could cut the number of years you suffer from ill health.'
Dr Derrick Heng, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's non-communicable diseases branch said the study will guide the authorities on how to spend health resources.
But though it 'shines the torch' on diseases that cause the most suffering, the ministry will have to see which actually benefit from preventive measures.
The study will be repeated every three years, to track if the main causes of disability change, or are reduced, as the ministry puts in more effort to tackle them.
A surprising finding was how mental disorders count as much as diabetes and stroke for the wasted years. Mental health is getting a boost as the ministry has committed $80 million over the next five years to improving it.
Zooming in on problem areas could help Singapore catch up with countries that fare best - such as Japan, the top country in the world for long, healthy lives.
Japanese women live an average of 77.7 years in good health, compared to only 71.3 years for women here. Japanese men have 72.3 years of good health, compared to 68.8 years for Singapore men.
The ministry has already made the treatment and prevention of chronic disease a priority. People can now use money previously reserved for hospitalisation to treat diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and stroke.
The intention is to treat those conditions early before complications set in.
Unfortunately the programme has not been popular, said Madam Halimah. She suggested expanding the use of Medisave money to include an annual health check.
Men should also take a leaf from their wives.
Women all over the world live longer and healthier lives. The World Health Organisation (WHO) attributes it to their smoking less, exercising more and being more health conscious than men. As for Japan, its explanation is the low rate of cardiovascular diseases comes from their high-in-fish diets.
Madam Halimah said: 'We should also start eating more fish and less meat.'
salma@sph.com.sg
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_182755.html?vgnmr=1

Public hospitals need better queue system

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Dec 8, 2007

Public hospitals need better queue system
THE queue system in public hospitals needs to be improved.
My child was born with a congenital health condition and needs to go for regular check-ups at KK Hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, we have to take a queue number but the queue system is a random one so we never know how long we need to wait and how many patients are ahead of us.
Despite having a scheduled appointment, each visit would still require half an hour to more than two hours of waiting. We have to avoid going for food or toilet breaks in case we missed our turn.
A month ago, my father went for a check-up at the SingHealth polyclinic at Singapore General Hospital on account of chest pain. He was scheduled to undergo a physical examination and scan. Fortunately, the check-up showed that there were no major health problems.
However, the whole process took more than five hours. He arrived at the hospital about 10am and could not take his lunch as the queue system was also a random one and he didn't want to miss his turn.
Upon obtaining the scan results, he had his final consultation with the doctor after 3pm and was prescribed some painkillers.
My father was faint from hunger by then and he rejected the prescription as that would mean another wait at the pharmacy.
Most patients at hospitals are sick and may need rest but they have to queue for hours. It is especially tough on old folk and young children who are sick as they cannot afford to wait for hours in the virus-filled environment.
Since the Government has put so much money and effort into improving public-hospital standards, I hope it can look into a better queue system to enhance patients' experience.
Jessica Tan Pui See (Mrs)


http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_184722.html

Double whammy for low-income households

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Dec 10, 2007

Double whammy for low-income households
IN THE midst of the current discussion over the increasing rate of inflation in Singapore, one issue has been left out.
This issue is especially germane, since higher inflation affects the less-well-off in Singapore society much more than those who are better off.
I am referring to the declining real, as opposed to the nominal, interest rate, for savings in Singapore. The gap between the two is caused by the recent increase in inflation, combined with a stagnation in the interest rate offered by financial institutions here.
According to monthly data available from the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) website (
https://secure.sgs.gov.sg/apps/msbs/interestRatesOfBanksAndFinanceCompaniesForm.jsp), 12-month fixed deposit rates of banks have averaged 0.92 per cent (over the last five years, that is, 2002-2006) and 2.05 per cent (over the last 10 years), 2.56 per cent (over the last 15 years) and 3.02 per cent (over the last 20 years).
The bank savings rate has averaged 0.31 per cent (over the last five years), 1.12 per cent (over the last 10 years), 1.52 per cent (over the last 15 years) and 1.94 per cent (over the last 20 years). The picture is similar for finance companies.
Annual inflation data from the SingStats website (
http://www.singstat.gov.sg) shows that the average was 0.7 per cent (over the last five years), 0.7 per cent (over the last 10 years), 1.2 per cent (over the last 15 years), and 1.5 per cent (over the last 20 years). This year, it is expected to be between 3 and 4 per cent.
Thus, low-income households have suffered doubly in the current Singapore economy: their purchasing power has fallen (because of higher inflation) while their ability to grow their savings has declined. It is doubtful whether next year's increase in inflation will lead to any rise in interest rates.
In addition, while higher-income households are aware of alternative options for increasing their returns, such as REITs, ETFs and commodity futures which have boomed in recent past, lower-income households are unable to take advantage of such financial innovations.
It's a situation full of despair for low-income households - while they are asked to spend more time enhancing their skills so they can earn more, whatever savings they do have or put aside are steadily being eroded.
Harminder Singh
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_184770.html

Latest comments (#1)newsstorm at Mon Dec 10 07:23:30 SGT 2007:
Plus, the richest 10% - 20% people in Singapore enjoy doubling, tripled or four-fold increase of their fixed assets like private properties and commercial properties and many made millions from en-bloc sales. HDB dwellers don't enjoy this at all. The rich also have their transport cost lowered. Lower import tax and road tax lead to the low cost of absolute car price over the years, a Japanese saloon car cost about $100,000 more than 10 years ago but now cost about $60,000. But public transport costs keep on going up and up. It pays to be a rich person in Singapore but the poor get to catch up with ever-increasing costs of living.
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(#2)CallMeKP at Mon Dec 10 07:48:37 SGT 2007:
Dear Editor,
This letter should have been moved to the PRINTED VERSION. As a public media, you need to continually highlight the plights of the suffering average citizens.
Thanks
Home > ST Forum > Story
Dec 10, 2007

Have we lost the humanity to say 'sorry'?
WHY is it so hard to say 'I am sorry', or 'We apologise' when you make a mistake that vexes others?
It would seem that this inexcusable lapse in common courtesy is widespread, even among the highly educated.
Let me illustrate by sharing an experience of a close buddy of mine.
John (not his real name) went to a renowned hospital one Friday morning for a blood test. Later that day, his doctor asked him to go back for a retest. Reason: an abnormally high level of potassium in his blood that could spell trouble.
Concerned, John made his way back to the hospital after lunch and was made to wait at the A&E unit until 6.30pm (almost four hours) for the result.
The 73-year-old retiree was clearly upset about the painful wait as he recounted his experience.
It turned out that his blood profile was normal after all. Poor John was unceremoniously discharged - no explanation for the discrepancy in the first lab result, no acknowledgement of mistake, and not a word of apology for the false alarm, anxiety and inconvenience caused.
This is odd, especially for a hospital that prides itself on the provision of high-quality patient care. One would think that, as a complement to its excellent medical expertise, the mission of this hospital (or for that matter any decently run hospital) would be better served by the graciousness and sensitivity of its staff.
What happened to John may seem trivial but it is not. Neither is it an isolated incident as the word 'sorry', sad to say, is rarely heard these days when it should be a natural and spontaneous response in such situations.
Perhaps it is the hectic way of life here that has over the years inured many Singaporeans to the point of abject apathy on how decent folk ought to treat one another.
That is sad but we must not find excuses for our shortcomings. This innate and instinctive part of ourselves that makes us human need not be lost forever if we, first, don't allow ourselves to live in denial and, second, make a conscientious effort to change for the better.
The change will take time, but it will be worth it for, if nothing else, we could at least say with some pride (and without apologies!) that we are truly a 'developed nation'.
Lee Seck Kay

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_185124.html