health tourism - cherry (1)

8/7/2019 HEALTH TOURISM - cherry (1)

1/28

HEALTH is a leap in dark,, a

spontaneous unpremeditated actwithout benefit of experience


2/28

AIM

This paper aims to look into Singapore's healthcare system

and how practicing self-responsibility can facilitate the

primary purpose of healthcare systems even with smallbudget (Singapore: 3.7% of GDP versus US: 16% of GDP

and Major EU countries: 9% of GDP). We shall also study

whether such policies can work in other different countries

and systems, and can also improve the population health as a

whole.


3/28

SINGAPORE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM


4/28


5/28

IntroductionIntroduction

y Global Life Expectancy

during 1900s : 40-50 yrs.

y Later increased to 60yrs with an exception to

developing and under developing countries.

y Developed countries : 70-80 yrs.

Better Nutrition, Public healthcare and Adv Medical

science being the corroborative factors.


6/28


7/28


8/28


9/28


10/28


11/28

SINGAPORES LIFESINGAPORES LIFE

EXPECTANCYEXPECTANCYy Around 60yrs by 1957.

y Improved to 80years by 2009.

Demand for natural resources increases along withpopulation.

Transition in health care In the present trend, Moredeaths due to chronic diseases (Heart attack, cancer)than infectious diseases (Polio, Small pox, Measles)


12/28

yy As, demand for healthcare resources increasesAs, demand for healthcare resources increases

yyCost increases.Cost increases.

yy Pressure to build more hospitals.Pressure to build more hospitals.

yy Trained healthcare workers to take care of.Trained healthcare workers to take care of.

Governments need to ensure that poorGovernments need to ensure that poorand underprivileged are not deprived ofand underprivileged are not deprived of

basic healthcare needs.basic healthcare needs.

GovernmentGovernment need to review their fiscal

spending including healthcare expenditures.


13/28

Health Care Financing methods

y Government Subsidies

y Public or Private insurance

y Out of pocket

y Mandatory Savings


14/28

y Singapores GDP one of the highest in Asia-Pacific.

y Known for its most advanced and successfulhealth care system for efficiency and results.

y Singapore Health Care system ranked thebest in asia by WHO in year 2000.

(Ahead ofHongkong, china, japan)

y Political and Economic Risk Consultancy(PERC)ranked singapores healthcare to be 3rd best in theworld.

Singapore Healthcare systems


15/28

y Singapores infant mortality rate - 2.3 deaths per

1000 live berths.y 3.7 % of GDP is spent of health care.

y Success secrets :

y Public and Private partnership for healthcare facilities.

y High quality medical care for other medical centers with

diff level of service and comfort.

y Private sector holds 80% stake , government clinics

cover only 20%


16/28

y Citizens and permanent residents areenrolled to mandatory national savings

scheme.

y Foreigners / Immigrants purchase it on

their own from private companies or

through their employer.


17/28

yMEDISAVE

yMEDISHIELD

yMEDIFUND

The 3 Ms


18/28

y Elder shield is an insurance

scheme which provides financial

protection for those who needlong-term

care especially during old age.

y Priority is given to those who show consistency intheir Medisave and Medishield contributions.

ELDERSHIELD


19/28

y The Singapore healthcare systemworks toward building a healthypopulation through preventivehealthcare programmes andpromoting a healthy lifestyle.

y While good and affordablehealthcare services is available tomost Singaporeans throughpublic hospitals and clinics atsubsidized rates, one cannot

expect getting free lunch asco-payment of medical expensesis required.


20/28

y This approach aims to promoteindividual responsibility towards

healthy living and medicalexpenses. It assumes that when anindividual feels the pinch of havingto pay, it will motivate one to takethe efforts not to incur theexpenses in the first place. When

the demand for medical services iskept low, public spending onhealthcare will also be low.

y With rising medical costs, it isquite easy to keep citizens

motivated to remain healthy.Almost 50% of Singaporeansexercise at least once a week in asurvey done in 2005, up from 38%in 2002. Number of mass runs andparticipants are increasing rapidly

every year.


21/28

y Even when the self-responsibilityphilosophy seems to be working, thereis still a need to ensure the individual

has the ability to make payments intime of need for medical services.

y The implementation of Medisave in1984 made it compulsory forSingaporeans to set aside about 6.5%to 9% of their income for futurepersonal or family members'

hospitalization, day surgery or certainoutpatient expenses.

y For major illnesses where treatmentcosts can wipe out the savings,Medishield is a low cost castastrophicillness insurance scheme to help duringexpenses not sufficiently covered byMedisave savings. The premiums ofMedishield can be paid by Medisave.Individuals can seek private insurersfor more comprehensive coverage.


22/28

y For individuals who cannot

afford the expense even after

being covered by Medisaveand Medishield, they can seek

financial assistance through

Medifund which was set up in

1993. The interest income

from the capital sum for

Medifund of $200 million (in

1993) grew to $1.7 billion in

2009 and is used to help the

needy who have exhausted allother means to pay for their

medical bills.


23/28

Other health care systems.

68

83

47

25

Government funding

Australia

UK

US

Singapore

32

17

53

75

Private funding

Australia

UK

US

Singapore


24/28

Self responsibility purpose..

y for family-centric

society, family members are

expected to take care of each

other and it should not beregarded as unfair if the

children needs to bear the

medical costs of their parents.

Self-responsibility also

implies the need to build

close family ties and

cohesiveness to handle

contingencies.


25/28

Policies and schemes must change with

time--------y After Medisave was implemented in 1984, new

schemes such as Medishield, Medifund andEldershield were later implemented to meet thedemands then. Conventional thinking andparadigms have to be challenged. For exampleusing of Medisave for HIV treatments were

frowned upon in the early days, but now largelyaccepted as necessary, even when the principleof self-responsibility is being confronted by theactions of some people who are not responsible.The approach to healthcare has also beenchanging. Non-conventional treatments such as

mediation, yoga, dietary supplements andtraditional medicine are gaining acceptance andpopularity. The authorities will eventually haveto decide whether consumption of suchhealthcare activities that lack scientific evidencemay be allowed to be funded by Medisave or

government subsidies.


26/28

The healthcare needs are ever-changing and any systems have to adapt andchange with it. Governments have to balance healthcare needs with othernational needs like education. The healthcare industry needs to remaincompetitive despite heavy government interventions to ensure costs andoperational efficiency as well as incentive to encourage R&D activities. Tomeet all these needs and demands, everyone will need to play their part. Noone can guarantee a illness-free living, but can decrease their risks by havinghealthy lifestyles and staying economically productive. Countries at differentlevels of economical and political development will need different mix ofpublic and private fundings and policies. However, for the longer termresults, policies based on self-responsibility will ensure sustainability andeffectiveness.


27/28


28/28

health tourism - cherry (1)

Documents