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Doctors in private practice are concerned that some patients may be reluctant to seek treatment in a private hospital due to a proposed change in MediShield Life earlier this week.
The MediShield Life Council, which was created to review the national health insurance plan, among other things, recommended Tuesday that the cap on claims for private hospital bills be lowered from 35% to 25% from early next year. If implemented, the change may affect the private integrated (IP) plans offered by seven insurers incorporating MediShield Life.
As a result, insurers may increase their IP premiums and policyholders will have to pay more for treatment at private hospitals, private doctors told The Straits Times.
“Increasing PI premiums will force patients, especially the middle class and heart dwellers, to abandon their current PIs and move on to lower-tier plans, and seek treatment in public hospitals,” said Dr. Desmond Wai, a gastroenterologist at the Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Center.
Doctors also said that if more patients are transferred to public hospitals, there will be a greater burden on restructured hospitals and patients may not be able to receive timely treatment.
Dr. Chuang Hsuan-Hung, cardiologist and medical director of the Asian Heart and Vascular Center, said: “Both the public and private health sectors have a role to play in serving the needs of the community. It is not an argument about which system better or cheaper, but it is an acknowledgment that the public health system is more overwhelmed. “
Dr. Christopher Chong, an OB-GYN at Gleneagles Hospital, added: “This is especially true during the Covid-19 period, as public hospitals are the first line of defense.”
Dr. Chuang cited the case of a patient who went to the emergency department of a public hospital for chest pain recently and received a follow-up appointment in November.
“After consulting his family and looking for insurance, he decided to see us quickly. His main artery was 90 percent blocked,” added the cardiologist, and received “timely” treatment.
The MediShield Life Council proposed the change in payments because it said that at a 35% pro-rate, a private hospital bill is more expensive than the same procedure in a subsidized ward.
Therefore, the poorest patients receiving subsidized care are financing the more expensive private care of the richest patients in private hospitals.
Farrer Park Hospital said it is too early to determine the impact of the proposed changes.
“We strive to do what is right and best for patients, and within the council’s guidelines,” the private hospital said, in response to ST’s questions.
Assistant Professor Zhu Wenjun from Nanyang Technological University Business School said the economic reason behind the lower limit is for more efficient use of government transfer payments, so that all Singaporeans can have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare.
Patients opting for private class A or B1 treatment in public hospitals will continue to receive 35% of their bills covered by MediShield Life.
Professor Zhu also said that it is not clear for now whether the reduction will lead to significant changes in the behavior of patients.
“We will have to wait and see the responses from the market.”
Cost may not be the only consideration when patients opt for treatment at a private hospital, said Dr. Daryl Tan, a hematologist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Center.
Shorter wait times, frequent personalized care and attention, direct access to primary care physicians during emergencies, and ease of admission due to lower inpatient occupancy rates are other reasons, he said.
Dr. Wai said that private physicians could become more cautious and consider more cost-effective treatment plans with lower payments.
“Hopefully this will help eliminate unnecessary procedures and surgeries,” he said.
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