Funding in singaporean health system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Funding in singaporean health system - Essay Example The funding also enables competition between the different private health care facilities. The funding also encourages individuals to choose between the public and private health care facilities. Singapore uses the 3M health care financing and services provision. The first 'M' is the Medisave introduced in 1984, the second 'M' is the Medishield introduced in 1990 and the third 'M' is the Medifund introduced in 1963. These 3M form the centerpiece of Singapore health care financing. The 3M medical strategy was designed to curb the reliance of the public on fee for service, third party reimbursement. New medical schemes have been added to the 3M, these include the Eldercare and Elderfund. The Singapore government offers subsidies to public health, outpatient services, hospital services and preventive care. Classes B and C are highly subsidized accounting for the higher costs of running private hospitals. This is practiced at the private sector. It is done individually or through an employer. It is popular among professionals and companies. It is practiced in the private sector. With this type of funding, the companies control the health care expenditure. The system is not used at a national level in Singapore. Widely practiced in Singapore's private sector. ... Fee for service Widely practiced in Singapore's private sector. It is practiced at a family medicine and specialist level. This form of financing for the private sector is growing rapidly in Singapore. It is based on free to choose basis. It is personal and very efficient. However it cannot serve the Singapore entire population as it is expensive. The sector progress as the economy grows (Toh, 2008). Cost containment In the Singapore method of health care financing the health care cost do not pose any problem so long as the rising national income is matched with the health care costs. This means that as the GDP increases, the health care costs should also plummet. This however is problematic due to the fact that the health care cost might increase faster than the GDP. As hospitalization cost increase the cost of the premiums are bound to increase. In the 3M system, all the money spent on the health care is directly the money earned by the health facilities. This system makes the health care providers lack any incentive to contain costs. The system thus limits health care providers from practicing entrepreneur skills. The 3M scheme has resulted in the cutting back of the government spending on healthcare but not to the private spending. Government promotion to the private sector Singapore is striving towards becoming a regional medical hub. This initiative is funded by the government and aims at promoting the private health care sector. The government has spent millions of dollars in attracting foreign based biotechnology and pharmacetucal companies. Some multinational drug companies operating in Singapore include Merck, Sharp & Dohme, Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Schering-plough and Pfizer. (Taylor & Blair,