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I WELCOME the recent MediShield Life recommendations (“MediShield Life to offer much better benefits for all”; yesterday).
Previously, most ageing Singaporeans lived in fear, worrying about their ability to afford medical treatment due to escalating health costs.
With MediShield Life coming into play soon, we are assured of a lifetime of coverage. This gives citizens peace of mind.
Escalating health-care costs primarily stem from avant-garde health-care treatment modalities, more sophisticated diagnostic investigations and various improved care services.
Most of all, our rapidly ageing population requires more complicated and frequent health care.
As the claimable amount increases, it will be human nature to want more out of the system.
Will there be more unnecessary MRI scans, PET scans, blood investigations, surgical procedures, and so on, carried out by doctors, under pressure from patients?
Will we eventually face a similar fate as America, where there is misuse and overuse of the health-care system?
Senior Health Correspondent Salma Khalik has also pointed out a few salient issues that are not covered by the recent MediShield Life proposals, for example, the integrated plans and out-of-pocket payments (“Good news all round – pay less as bill grows”; yesterday).
Nobody really understands the complicated ideas in health-care policies covering areas such as means testing, co-payment, top-up rates, age-related coverage, illness exclusions and yearly limits.
The MediShield Life Review Committee, in its final announcement of the scheme, should give a simple and clear idea of our health-care policies that all lay people can understand.
Basically, give us peace of mind so that we can keep ourselves physically and mentally healthy.
Ng Kim Boon
