Singapore — The country’s decision to no longer pay for the hospital bills for unvaccinated Covid patients got a shoutout from a US late-night talk show, of all places.
On Nov 10 (Wednesday), Trevor Noah, the host of The Daily Show, praised Singapore for “not messing around” when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccines.
Singapore’s like the parents who actually do the s**t that you threaten your kids with, and this time they’re taking on people who won’t get a Covid shot. pic.twitter.com/PtMr0joJt0
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) November 10, 2021
In one segment of his show, he said that governments all over the world are doing everything they can to get people vaccinated, including offering financial incentives.
And Singapore, he pointed out, is trying out a different tactic, and he compared its stern approach to that of the United States.
“Singapore has decided to hit the unvaccinated where it hurts most—their wallets.”
He added, “In America, if you say, if you don’t want the vaccine, the government is like, ‘Please, please take the vaccine! Please, we’ll give you money!’
Whereas in Singapore, he continued, the approach is more of “Okay, okay, it’s gonna be like that? Oh, well, you best bring your cheque book to the hospital then, because those ventilators are by the hour, b****!’”
He added that Singapore is “like the parents down the block who actually do the sh*t you threaten your kids with.
I understand the argument here. Why shouldn’t you have to pay for your preventable health problems?”
Mr Noah was joined on the show by Malaysian comedian and Crazy Rich Asians star Ronny Chieng, who spent some of his growing up years in Singapore and, shall we say, is not unfamiliar with life in the Little Red Dot and what happens when the government is “not messing around.”
“I don’t think people realise, Singapore’s saying that if you don’t take the Covid vaccine, you have to pay for your Covid treatment. Which is a huge deal in Singapore because Singapore essentially has universal healthcare.
In Singapore, the healthcare system just works. We never… I can’t explain this in 5 seconds, so no one is going to care, but essentially it takes free-market principles and socialist principles and combines them together. All they care about is efficiency in Singapore. They don’t politicise solutions.”
Therefore, those who choose to remain unvaccinated and risk being exposed to Covid had better be prepared to pay a considerable sum.
On Friday (Nov 12), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that unvaccinated patients who end up needing care in an ICU may need to shell out a whopping S$25,000 for their hospital bill.
But this amount would be deceased after applicable subsidies are applied, such as MediShield Life or the Integrated Shield Plan.
“Generally, the median bill size for COVID-positive patients receiving treatment in acute hospitals who require both ICU care and COVID-19 therapeutics is estimated to be about S$25,000.
Means-tested government subsidies and MediShield Life coverage can reduce the bill to about S$2,000-S$4,000 for eligible Singaporeans in subsidised wards,” MOH said. /TISG
Trevor Noah’s S’pore shows sold out, the comedian takes some time out to experience hawker food