MOH publishes average hospital bill sizes which show affordability
By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 22 August 2006 1838 hrs

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The Health Ministry has for the first time published the average bill size for a hospital stay.

It collated figures from last year and found that medical costs stayed affordable.

A typical 3-5 day stay in an A-Class ward cost about $3,473 while patients paid $858 in a C-Class ward.

Statistically, up to half of patients in A-Class wards paid about $2,400 or less, while the biggest bill sizes came close to $11,000.

In B1 wards, the average bill size was around $2,700 with 50 percent paying less, at around $1,700.

Averaged out, B2 ward bill sizes hovered just under $1,100 while most in fact paid just under $700.

Finally, C-Class patients paid an average bill of $850, with half of them actually paying just $500.

The maximum anyone paid in these wards was about $2,700.

How much money Singaporeans have in their Medisave account has also been similarly tabulated.

They have an average Medisave saving of $13,000, with half having close to $9,000 ($8,900) or less.

The Health Ministry says this is sufficient to pay for several episodes of hospital stays in B2 and C wards.

For more serious illnesses, 90 percent of working Singaporeans have medical insurance through Medishield -- which will help to cover about 60% of larger bills above $5,000.

Finally, very needy patients also get help through Medifund, and the government disbursed $40m last year under the scheme - which was a 16% increase over the year before.

Prior to the latest move, the Health Ministry has already published data on the size of hospital bills according to conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.

Service indicators for medical insurance policies will also be updated regularly so as to provide greater transparency and help patients make an informed choice when making a decision.

The latest set of data will be updated every six months and the information from the first half of the year is being compiled and will be published soon. -CNA/ir