In Oz, Max $500 to Extract 4 Wisdom Teeth. In SG, $1100 Per Tooth. Song Bo?

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

DEAR TRS, I AM APPALLED AT SINGAPORE'S HEALTHCARE COSTS!

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4 Dec 2014 - 12:52pm








Dear TRS,

Recently, I paid a visit to a dental clinic to have my wisdom teeth extracted. I currently reside in Australia and decided to visit Singapore to use what's left of my Medisave account to pay for my procedure. After the entire procedure was done, not only did I realise I was charged $1100 per surgical extraction per tooth, but due to my Medisave not having a $2000 minimum sum, I was unable to touch any of my money in my account. My mother ended up using her Medisave to "subsidise" my procedure, and I was left to pay a hefty amount of close to $800 to have 3 of my teeth extracted.

My decision to have this procedure done in Singapore was not without careful planning. I had more faith in the surgical hygiene of Singaporean doctors and healthcare sector and was also told that my procedure could be subsidised almost entirely. However, faced with an exorbitant bill, I realised that if I had the procedure done in Australia, it would cost me a maximum of $500 to have all 4 teeth taken out by a dentist of equal calibre. I am a member of their public health welfare system (Medicare) despite not being a citizen or PR, and their subsidies come from the government, not their own people's health fund.







Not only are the medical prices ridiculous, we are unable to touch what is in our Medisave account without going through
government vetting and a slew of paperwork procedures. It boggles my mind as to why we are not allowed to touch money that is rightfully ours without reaching a "minimum sum". And even if we do, we are unable to decide how much of that money we can use to pay for our procedures. This is preposterous and limits not only the financial ability of a country's citizens, especially its elderly, but is a clear breach of human rights and of the freedom to make choices for ourselves regarding our own health.

Things need to change around here in Singapore, no more "what to do"s and "bo pian"s, "suck it up"s and "live with it"s - if you want to have a better life, fight for what is rightfully yours. Don't sit around letting the government push you around. You don't owe them your living, you owe it to yourselves. For your health, your life, your happiness and your families.

Nalina
TRS Contributor


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