I WAS rather surprised to see that last year, medical expense was one of the top reasons for indebtedness (“Debt woes dip as economy picks up”; April 1) .

Of those who sought help from Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS) for medical debts, 20.9 per cent were Singaporeans and 36.6 per cent, permanent residents (PRs).

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has regularly maintained that health care is affordable in Singapore, under our 3Ms (Medisave, MediShield and Medifund).

So, why do the CCS statistics seem to indicate otherwise?