MINISTRY OF HEALTH: YOU DIE IS YOUR OWN PROBLEM!

Cost of Hepatitis B medication in S’pore a culture shock

I empathise with the writer of the letter “Use of Medisave for MRIs should be the same for all” (May 28).

My wife and I were overseas for seven years and returned in 2011 with two children to a culture shock.

I am a Hepatitis B carrier and must pay S$300 a month for my daily pill in Singapore and for a follow-up, including scans, every four to six months.

I approached my Member of Parliament, Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang GRC), for a letter requesting that I be allowed to use my Medisave for my monthly medical fees.

He graciously helped me.

The reply, though, was that I could use my Medisave only when it is a critical condition.

I then said that if I stop taking the medication, I would have liver cancer and it would be too late. There was no further reply.

In Japan, I paid only about US$1 (S$1.26) a day, after subsidy, for my daily pill.

LAWRENCE KOH CHOON TECK