New Ministry of Health initiatives announced in Singapore’s 2017 Budget
Minister of Health Gan Kim Yong announced on Thursday (March 9) a number of health initiatives that the ministry would be looking to spend part of its SGD 10.7 billion budget on. During the Parliament’s Committee of Supply debate, Yong explained that the ministry would be focusing beyond healthcare to health, beyond hospital to community, and beyond quality to value.
The way they’ll get Singapore’s healthcare system from its current state to the desired one is through a number of new health initiatives aimed at helping people live healthier lives, while making healthier choices easier. An article from the Straits Times has highlighted seven actions that people should know about from the debate.
1. Inexpensive health screenings
Beginning in September this year, eligible persons will be able to pay SGD 5 or less for health screenings. These screenings will look for diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and colorectal and cervical cancers. CHAS cardholders will pay even less (2 SGD), while the Pioneer Generation will have access to free health screenings. Subsidies will also be provided for high risk 18 to 30 year olds.
2. Smoking age to be raised from 18 to 21
The Ministry of Health is also aiming to propose legislative change in the next year, calling on Parliament to raise the legal tobacco purchasing age from 18 years old to 21. 45% of tobacco users in Singapore began smoking regularly between the ages of 18 and 21, so raising the age aims to reduce the number of smokers in general.
3. Greater focus on providing healthier food options
The Ministry’s Healthier Ingredient Development Scheme will be introduced in July to encourage healthier ingredient use by those in the food industry. It will provide funding support for manufacturers to develop healthier products, such as by using whole grains and healthier cooking oils. The public sector itself will also shift to adopt better, healthier catering options for all events and training courses.
4. Boosting healthcare staff numbers
With the number of health staff numbers being a real concern for many countries around the world, Singapore’s government has plans to increase their numbers by 9,000. This is said to mean approximately 2,700 nurses, 4,500 support staff and 1,800 professionals, managers, executives and technicians. Community care nurse numbers are also expected to rise as the Ministry of Health invests SGD 24 million into staffing.
5. Boosts for mental health
Mental health is also set to get a bump in support with frontline staff from government agencies being trained to spot and respond to community mental health cases. More than 130 social service agencies, including the police, will be trained to support people with mental health concerns. Polyclinics will also be provided with funding to provide more mental health services.
6. Encouraging GPs to join Primary Care Networks
Budget 2017 will also introduce a new scheme to help general practitioners manage patients with chronic medical conditions better. Joining a primary care network, GPs will be included in a virtual group that will allow doctors to pool resources together. With the supported capacity, patients with conditions such as diabetes and high cholesterol will be able to be monitored better to ensure the best care decisions are made.
7. New family clinics and polyclinics
There are two new family medicine clinics opening this year; one in Keat Hong and the other in Tampines. The government is also opening polyclinics in Jurong West and Punggol in 2017, while three new ones in Bukit Panjang, Eunos and Sembawang will be operational by 2020. Minister of State for Health, Lam Pin Min, also made the announcement that a polyclinic in the Kallang/Balestier area is also planned.
Supporting health initiatives with quality medical insurance coverage
These new government and ministry-announced health initiatives are great news for Singaporeans, however many expats will only benefit from a few of the actions. Increased staffing numbers are great for everyone, meaning there should be shorter wait times and greater choice for physicians. It should be noted that these actions are also only announced intentions, meaning that the parliament will still need to pass legislation before the Ministry can begin work, such as the laws required for increasing the smoking age.
Expats in Singapore can fill the gaps in government provided and subsidized healthcare that their status restricts them from by securing adequate private medical insurance. Pacific Prime Singapore has served many clients in the past 15 years with solid, affordable health coverage both here and abroad. If you’d like to know more about making your healthcare options more comprehensive, contact the advisers at Pacific Prime Singapore today!
Since joining Pacific Prime, Martin has become even more aware of the gap between the true value of insurance products and most people’s appreciation of it, and developed a passion for demystifying and simplifying matters, so that more people get the protection they need at a cost they can easily afford.
In his free time, Martin attends concerts of various genres, and plays the violin with piano accompaniment he pre-recorded himself or played live by his niece.
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