Finance expert and socio-political commentator Leong Sze Hian posted pictures of hospital bills on his social media platform to point out the meagre sum Medishield Life pays out.
The bills of the unidentified patient who was warded in the B2 ward of the public hospital were captioned, “B2 ward Hospitalisation and medicine – $3,267 – MediShield Life pay $300”.
medishieldLSH1 medishieldLSH2The total charge on the first bill was $5,532.33.
The Government grant for admission in class B2 ward was $3263.62.
The patient was expected to pay a total of $2,333.51 after the various subsidies and taxes.
Medishield Life, a basic health insurance scheme administered by the CPF Board, covered $300.16 of the patient’s bill; and the patient paid the remaining $2,033.35 using his own monies in his Medisave (compulsory medical saving account) account.
The second bill was one for medication and there were no Government subsidies for the drugs prescribed, probably because the drugs were not on Ministry of Health’s subsidised drugs list.
The antiviral medication Entecavir Tab 0.5mg (Baraclude) cost $933.75, and the patient paid cash for it.
A commenter on Mr Leong’s post, Daniel Koh, shared about the help his friend received after being diagnosed with leukamia and said:
“My friend kena (got)  leukemia last year. Was clear but this year relapsed….now bankrupt even though his ins paid 90% of all bills. Currently his wife getting help from many help group except Gov. Why? He did apply for Medifund (go read up) and got a huge amount of $250 to relief him for 6 mths….while his meds is $1,500 per week hor.”