Payment Arrears by Patients in Public Healthcare Sector

Dr Janil Puthucheary asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the current percentage of patients who have arrears for their hospital bills; (b) to what extent are these bad debts straining the public healthcare system; (c) what are the common reasons why there are bad debts; (d) whether they are indicative of healthcare becoming inaccessible and unaffordable to Singaporeans; and (e) what percentage of arrears over the last five years have successfully been recovered.

The vast majority of patients in the public hospitals, or more than 95% of them, settle their hospital bills within two months of discharge. As at end-2012, the total arrears due from patients that exceeded two months amounted to about 2.5% of the public hospitals' total operating expenses. These figures include arrears brought forward from prior years. They also include patients who are paying their outstanding bills by instalments, or are awaiting assessment for financial assistance by the hospitals.

A significant part of the arrears are eventually recovered or paid up over time, leaving a smaller portion amounting to about 1% of total operating expenses that becomes bad debt and have to be written off eventually. In some instances, this could be due to the patient remaining uncontactable despite repeated attempts, or even due to disputes regarding the treatment.

The trend of arrears has remained similar over the last five years and do not suggest increasing unaffordability of healthcare bills. We are committed to keeping healthcare affordable for Singaporeans. Should a patient express

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difficulty with his or her hospital bill, our hospitals will assess the case and explore options for financial assistance, such as instalment payments or MediFund assistance.