Andrew Loh, a prominent blogger who was once nominated by Yahoo Singapore as one of Singapore’s most influential media persons, recounted in his blog that he has 3 blockages and that he would need a bypass operation. He thinks his condition is a result of earlier years of unhealthy living.

“I can only guess that they are a result of earlier years of not-so-healthy living. I was a smoker for a long time (almost 3 decades), and I always spent late nights doing stuff. And I eat out almost always.”

The blogger now leads a healthy lifestyle and said that news of needing a bypass came unexpectedly, barely 2 months after he turned 50. Mr Loh said that he was surprised when the hospital staff who spoke to him on the cost of the bypass surgery told him how much he was expected to pay.

“The final bill is expected to be in the ballpark of $5,000, give or take.

This is after an up to 80% government subsidy.

Factor in Medishield Life (please contribute to your Medisave!), and personal insurance, and we end up paying very little (if any) by way of cash payments.”

Mr Loh said that he was appreciative of the government subsidies and Medishield Life, and advised his readers who do not contribute to Medisave, or do not have enough in Medisave, to find some way to contribute to it.

“It is important! If you do not, and if something untoward happens to you, you will not be covered under Medishield Life,” he said.

The gender-equality advocacy group AWARE, had previously pointed out that because many women are homemakers, women of retirement age generally enjoy less financial security than men.

“This impacts their access to healthcare. Among elderly patients, far more women (64 per cent) than men (38 per cent) need to tap into family members’ Medisave to pay their hospital bills,” AWARE said.

It added: “A society that values homemakers needs to decouple financial security for the elderly from CPF adequacy based on formal employment. A social pension could meet this need.”