How much will the PCPS changes help?

September 16, 2011

Today 04:46 AM Sep 16, 2011
The Primary Care Partnership Scheme (PCPS) will be enhanced from next year, but I wonder if it will be of little help to the needy, who cannot afford private healthcare even with the subsidy.
According to the Health Ministry’s website, PCPS general practitioners and dentists will charge “reasonable fees”, and after subtracting the subsidy, “there would typically be a remaining amount” that PCPS patients need to pay. The subsidy ranges from S$18.50 per visit for common treatments to S$240 or S$360 a year for chronic illness (S$320 or S$480 after the revisions).

With the Government setting aside S$73 million in subsidies for medication and for subsidised care at GP and dental clinics, does it mean the average subsidy per patient per year will be only S$103, with 710,000 people eligible for PCPS?

Also, as the previous annual subsidy amount of S$2.5 million was spent on 31,000 people who signed up (out of 87,000 who qualified), does it mean the average subsidy per person was only about S$81?

What we really need are more polyclinics which charge low fees instead of more people being eligible for PCPS but paying more at the private clinics.

Letter from Leong Sze Hian
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About the Author

Leong
Leong Sze Hian has served as the president of 4 professional bodies, honorary consul of 2 countries, an alumnus of Harvard University, authored 4 books, quoted over 1500 times in the media , has been a radio talkshow host, a newspaper daily columnist, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow, columnist for theonlinecitizen and Malaysiakini, executive producer of Ilo Ilo (40 international awards), Hotel Mumbai (associate producer), invited to speak more than 200 times in about 40 countries, CIFA advisory board member, founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of 2 countries. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional  qualifications.