Although the Singapore's '3M' medical care scheme is working for people, why is it still necessary to replace the current medical care scheme for the poor?

• Main Author: Myat Thida Soe.
• Other Authors: Tan Heng Kiat, Kelvin
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Public administration::Asia::Singapore
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/41787
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Singapore Healthcare system is noted to be well developed and efficient in its delivery of healthcare services, not only to its populace but also to its neighbours. This achievement is attributed to the government's change in healthcare polices during the 1980s that was designed reduce government healthcare expenditure. To achieve this end, the Singapore government introduced a co-payment scheme (namely Medisave, Medishield and Medifund) that made health consumers pay significant portion of their medical bills through a Central Provident Fund (CPF). This dissertation investigates the healthcare schemes in Singapore - including their merits and inadequacies. As one of its task, this work argues that given how these Medical care schemes worked over the last decade (1997 to 2007), its effect and implications for the economically disadvantaged in the society, there is the need to improve upon the current medical care scheme or overhaul it to benefit the poor in Singapore. This work demonstrates that given factors such as low-wage, ageing population and those with serious diseases who cannot afford expensive medical treatments, it is important for the existing schemes to be improved or upgraded to cater for the healthcare needs of the economically disadvantage.