Singapore: GST needs to increase to 50% just to pay for elderly healthcare costs alone by 2030. Just 2% increase is really just PEANUTS and really MEDIOCRE. (As Emeritus Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong will surely say .https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/20...leaders-too-mediocre-to-become-pap-ministers/ ) Each 1% of GST will raise just approx S$1.5 billion in taxes: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/go...revenue-in-fy2017-up-nearly-5-from-a-year-ago But Singapore elderly healthcare costs alone will hit S$66 billion by 2030, therefore, GST needs to increase by at least 44% to raise the S$66 billion p.a. for elderly healthcare costs alone: Spoiler Elderly health costs to rise tenfold by 2030: Report The findings on elderly healthcare costs could influence government policies and decisions on healthcare infrastructure spending as well as personal insurance and retirement planning. The findings on elderly healthcare costs could influence government policies and decisions on healthcare infrastructure spending as well as personal insurance and retirement planning.PHOTO: TIFFANY GOH FOR THE STRAITS TIMES PUBLISHED AUG 25, 2016, 5:00 AM SGT Each senior in S'pore will need average of $51k a year, the highest figure in Asia-Pacific Janice Tai Elderly healthcare costs in Singapore are projected to rise tenfold over the next 15 years to more than US$49 billion ($66 billion) annually, according to a report. This means an average of US$37,427 will be spent on healthcare for each elderly person by 2030. This is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, just ahead of Australia. The report was released yesterday at the launch of Marsh & McLennan Companies' new Asia-Pacific Risk Centre, which is supported by the Economic Development Board. The firm provides professional services such as risk management. The US$49 billion figure was derived by taking into consideration demographic changes, long-term care costs and medical cost inflation. It includes public expenditure, private insurance and out-of-pocket spending. The report estimated that US$5 billion was spent on healthcare for the elderly last year as a senior citizen's healthcare expenditure is estimated to be four times that of an average person's. By 2030, the healthcare expenditure for each senior is estimated to rise from US$8,196 in 2015 to US$37,427. MODEST ESTIMATE It's a conservative estimate given that the numbers do not take into account indirect costs, such as transport, and opportunity costs from caregivers' time... It also assumes that we have the same ready access to cheap foreign labour which may not be the case in the future. DR JEREMY LIM, a partner in Oliver Wyman global health practice, on the findings. "It's a conservative estimate given that the numbers do not take into account indirect costs, such as transport, and opportunity costs from caregivers' time," said Dr Jeremy Lim, a partner in Oliver Wyman global health practice. "It also assumes that we have the same ready access to cheap foreign labour which may not be the case in the future." Dr Ng Wai Chong, chief of clinical affairs at Tsao Foundation, agreed. He felt the figures might even be an underestimate if the current health and social care systems are not improved and people do not manage their own health more proactively. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said last year that healthcare spending in Singapore is expected to rise from over $9 billion last year to over $13 billion in 2020. These are just public expenditure figures, the Ministry of Finance confirmed yesterday. The implications of these new numbers are wide-ranging, said Mr Wolfram Hedrich, executive director of the Asia-Pacific Risk Centre. "Our findings will influence government policies and decisions on healthcare infrastructure spending. Individuals need to carefully consider how well-prepared they are to fund their retirement healthcare needs, especially given the limited range of affordable insurance products," he said. Dr Lim said the proposed review of ElderShield - announced during last Sunday's National Day Rally - is timely as it covers only the severely disabled and the payout is modest. "We can also look at other new solutions such as having reverse mortgage schemes to allow people to monetise their housing assets to pay for healthcare when they are old or allowing the use of MediShield and Medisave overseas if their price points are lower," he added. Dr Ng said there is a "keen awareness of the risk of rising healthcare costs at the government, community and personal levels". When asked for its comments on the report, which it received yesterday, the Ministry of Health said it is studying it and will respond at a later time. Marsh & McLennan Companies has four operating firms - insurance-broking and risk-management firms Marsh and Guy Carpenter as well as consulting firms Mercer and Oliver Wyman http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/elderly-health-costs-to-rise-tenfold-by-2030-report
Surplus because newly introduced medishield-life draws much more from everyone medisave accounts to pay for hospitalized people: means government healthcare burden is temporarily eased off a bit. Problem remains that many gahmen around the world (especially PAP) didn't notice the Tsunami of creative and expensive medical devices that corporates will invent and manufacturer and advertise to the population. E.g. a new artificial heart (usually as an interim measure to await a heart transplant) costs upwards of €140,000 and more on maintenance monitoring etc and can allow patient to survive at least 4 more years. "The Carmat artificial heart is expected to cost about 140,000 to 180,000 Euros (or $191,000 to $246,000)." Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/inno...beats-inside-a-75-year-old-patient-180948280/ Before, chemo therapy may be for just 6 months and the patient mostly just died after prolonging his life a few more months with the chemo treatment. Nowadays, with more 'effective' targeted therapy, the patient will live much much longer, but is NOT cured, and will need the USD 130,000 p.a. drug for LIFE to continuously suppress the cancer: "these drugs can cost around $130,000 per year and treatment may be continued indefinitely - compared with $60,000 to $100,000 for a single, six-month course of chemotherapy" https://ecancer.org/news/10539-targ...increase-the-costs-of-leukaemia-treatment.php But to buy votes, PAP government says: "We want all Singaporeans to have access to affordable, high quality healthcare," Mr Lee said. "No one should be denied medical care because they cannot afford it. This is my commitment to you." [Lee Hsien Loong, NDR 2018] https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...xtended-to-all-sporeans-with-chronic-ailments And since GST is the PAP favorite go to for extra revenue, the only way to raise the S$66 billion is to raise GST to 50% obviously.
Spending doesn't mean profits although the USA venture capitalist are pouring in funds by the bucket load. Truth be told, I see it like post fire public rebuilding effort: like Bukit Ho Swee fire, u re-build the same squatter settlement again and AGAIN, and REPEAT the exact same pro-fire hazard risks with zero improvement in design, only to see the whole place burned down over and over again. All the work and effort is spent on undoing what was totally avoidable/ preventable damages to begin with. 3rd world countries won't buy these expensive medical devices and treatments but Singapore will have to provide because patients can consult private/ even internet specialist but seek treatment at government hospitals and demand the same complex treatments which PAP government promised that nobody would be denied of. Such is the way that Singapore healthcare works. 100% firefighting, 0% fire prevention, thus the ridiculously large national healthcare costs that we have, and not that it was unavoidable (/fated) to begin with: “If you look around, our investments in health promotion and diseases prevention, I think... it is actually significantly lower than the amount of money we spend on treating diseases,” he (Minister Gan Kim Yong) said. : Due to a lack of "holistic approach towards health promotion, taking into account how can we empower consumers so that they make the right choice" Empower consumers with holistic approach to healthcare: Gan Kim Yong To address the challenges of non-communicable diseases, Singapore needs to move upstream and find ways to keep the population healthy, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong at the Ministerial Meeting on Universal Health Coverage TODAY (11 Feb 2015).http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/empower-consumers-holistic-approach-healthcare-gan-kim-yong
