Should treatment of chronic and terminal illnesses in Singapore enjoy better subsidies?

March 10, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Current Affairs 

(This article was originally written for The Online Citizen.)

Written by Ng E-Jay
09 March 2010

French virologist Professor Francoise Barre-Sinoussi was one of the co-discoverers of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) some 27 years ago. Today, she has taken Singapore to task for failing to provide free treatment for HIV sufferers, who form one of the most stigmatized groups in our country.

Prof Barre-Sinoussi, who was at the Biopolis last week to share her latest research findings on Aids, said that although she was initially impressed by Singapore’s healthcare infrastructure, she found Singapore’s lack of free HIV treatment difficult to accept. [1]

In response, the Ministry of Health (MOH) pointed out that unlike France’s state-sponsored healthcare system which requires that a heavy tax burden be imposed on the population, Singapore’s approach of co-payments and subsidies allow for an affordable healthcare system without high taxes.

It is time to question whether Singapore really provides affordable healthcare to the needy, especially in light of rapidly rising healthcare costs and the absence of a comprehensive social safety net for those who have fallen through the cracks. The introduction of means testing also means that the middle class is being saddled disproportionately with increasing costs.

Given that treatment for critical illnesses like cancer as well as terminal illnesses can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, is it humane for the government to continue to insist that taxes be kept at an ultra low rate and to deny Singaporeans increased subsidies for such expensive treatments that have the potential to cause financial ruin to families?

The burden on HIV sufferers in Singapore is perhaps one of the most acute, not just because they know they face certain death, but also because of the prevailing social stigma that they have to endure, as well as the fact that treatment costs in Singapore for them is very high.

HIV treatment in our country is much more expensive than in many other developed countries because generic versions of commonly prescribed anti-retrovirals are not available, forcing HIV patients to purchase branded originals. This is compounded by the fact that many HIV drugs are not approved for government subsidies, leading to a double whammy for HIV patients. There is a serious need for a better system of subsidies for HIV treatment in Singapore.

Initiatives launched by the MOH to promote early detection and treatment of Aids such as public awareness campaigns and anonymous HIV testing, while commendable, are by themselves insufficient at addressing the issue of humane treatment of HIV sufferers. Public awareness campaigns need to be more proactive in debunking myths about Aids and in erasing the stigma attached to Aids victims. The government also has to remove the insidious discrimination against HIV patients in the form of incomplete subsidies.

Taxes in Singapore are already very low and there is ample scope for taxes to be increased to provide greater financial assistance to HIV, cancer as well as terminally ill patients.

Taxes can easily be raised without affecting our level of economic competitiveness because the latter is actually being stifled not by taxes but by obsessive micromanagement of the economy by the government and entrenchment of GLCs which are unproductive.

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References:

[1] Channel News Asia, “HIV testing, treatment in S’pore should be free: Nobel laureate”, 08 March 2010.

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Comments

3 Comments on Should treatment of chronic and terminal illnesses in Singapore enjoy better subsidies?

  1. The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Daily SG: 10 Mar 2010 on Wed, 10th Mar 2010 11:32 am

    2. [...] & Healthcare Providers – Sgpolitics.net: Should treatment of chronic and terminal illnesses in Singapore enjoy better subsidies? – Mathia Lee: Don’t ignore pain, get treated [...]

  2. Anon on Wed, 10th Mar 2010 5:02 pm

    3. I would say that taxes need not be raised. Look at the amount of money temasek holdings lose in stock markets. That amount of money should be able to form some kind of subsidy by itself.

  3. The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Weekly Roundup: Week 11 on Sat, 13th Mar 2010 10:25 am

    4. [...] & Healthcare Providers – Singapore Life and Times: Bumped out – Sgpolitics.net: Should treatment of chronic and terminal illnesses in Singapore enjoy better subsidies? – Mathia Lee: Don’t ignore pain, get treated early – Singapore Alternatives: Sorry no enough [...]

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