[caption id="attachment_102737" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Singapore Medical Tourism where doctors dry up your pockets (doc: tourism-review.com)"][/caption] Unlimited Singapore doctor's bill no more remains a rumor. Once, an Indonesian patient was charged S$51000 a day. A Bruneian was charged S$450000 a day. Those only for doctor's bill, excluding extra charges like hospital, transport, accommodation, etc. This fact truely rises questions on how accurate (even misleading) information provided by Singapore authorities is. While they claim their medical costs set to a "reasonable price". Take a look at what Singapore authorities tell us on their web : :::
How Much Will My Medical Treatment Cost
For the quality of professional expertise, medical services, equipment and facilities offered, you will find that Singapore's healthcare services are reasonably priced. To get an overview of hospital bill size according to procedure and ward class, please visit the Ministry of Health's website. Procedures listed include Cataract Surgery (Phacoemulsification), Caesarean Delivery, Heart Angioplasty (Coronary Angioplasty), Heart Surgery (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft), Cancer Treatment and Prostate Operation. ::: And now you'll find the truth told by a Singaporean insider blogger. The blog, posted on 28-feb-2011, shows us how greedy top Singapore Doctors are. Private practicians seem to find theirselves on money machine to charge foreign patients as high as they wish. Unlimited and no camparason to other nationalites to level their astronomic bills. Prominent UK Professor Smith, regarded one level above Singapore Doctors, charged only $21000/day, while Dr Susan Lim charged $160000/day in avarage.
[caption id="attachment_102956" align="aligncenter" width="660" caption="Singapore Medical Costs Table January 2011"][/caption] Even when Singapore Minister of Health encourage to start up transparancy of medical cost since January 2011- following Dr Susan Lim's mark up case against Singapore Medical Council who is in favour of dead patient Pengiran Anak Hajah Damit from Royal Brunei since 2007- you'll find a table of costs (see above) not including cancer. It clearly shows us how Singapore Doctors keep secret their terrorising bills to foreign patients.
[caption id="attachment_102966" align="aligncenter" width="244" caption="Dr Susan Lim Scandal of Bill Mark Up (doc: redcatsboards.yuku.com)"]
Just What The Doctor Ordered
Recall that Manpower Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen once said “You’re getting a bargain for the ministers you get… I worked half as much and earn(ed) five times more when I was in the private sector.” (Channelnewsasia, 9 September 2003). That set everybody (including Goh Chok Tong who was seated next to him at same press conference) wondering if he was dumb to sign on, or just plain bullshitting. Straits Times decided to tell us what we were supposed to know all along: "It is public knowledge that top surgeons like Dr Ng Eng Hen, prior to joining government service, earned a income of $4.5 million in 2001." What is not public knowledge is whether 2001 was a bonanza year for Ng, or he was consistently invoicing super-sized bills. But we do know that, based on the current ministerial salary of $1.6 million (before add-ons like mid-term, year-end, GDP indexed bonuses, etc), the 2001 number is definitely less than the 5-fold he rattered off. There's another key difference to note. Those in the private sector knows that pay can go up and go down - even Steve Jobs was jobless when his board kicked him out of Apple in May1985- but ministers' payola is recession free and guaranteed. Even when they turn complacent and let terrorists escape through the toilet window. Ng's name was brought up as illustrative of how brazen Singapore doctors can be when billing for their services. Dr Khoo Kei Siong, deputy director of Parkway Cancer Centre, reportedly quoted $300,000 for a 30-minute overseas consultation that took less than 3 days including travelling time - the first class air ticket and hotel accommodation are extra costs. Dr Goh Seng Heng, a general practioner once billed $55,000 for 2.5 hours of treatment spread over 15 days. He also charged an Indonesian client $3,000 an hour for the 17 hours of travel and treatment he undertook. Professor Soo Khee Chee, head of the National Cancer Centre and one of 3 witnesses for the Singapore Medical Council (SMC), said Dr Susan Lim could have charged her Brunei client up $300,000 without batting an eyelid - just for the good doctor's service, all extras to be billed separately. Ng is current Minister of Education, and the $10.9 billion budget allocated for 2011 is second highest, right after Defence. Let's hope he hasn't carried over the billing philosophy of his private practice days. ::: Do you find the "reasonable price" they claim? By Ragile 24-apr-2011 :Related post:- Singapore Medical: Strong Warning To All Patients Review: Singapore Dr Susan Lim Case AsiaOne: Surgeon Billed Brunei Patient $40 Millions Over 4 Years
