Medical Bills of Foreign Workers

5 Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Health (a) what has been the trend of medical bills for foreign workers in the last five years; and (b) what has been the average size of these bills and the arrears incurred in our restructured hospitals, especially for those with more serious diagnoses.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Hospital bills of foreigners are not subsidised. The median bill size for foreign workers increased by about 7% a year from 2011 to 2014 and was about $2,000 in 2014. Employers are required to purchase healthcare insurance coverage of at least $15,000 for their employees on Work Permits and S passes. This is sufficient to fully pay for 96% of day surgery and inpatient bills incurred by foreign workers at the public hospitals in 2014.

All foreigners, including foreign workers, account for about 14% of the arrears cases that are outstanding for more than two months at the public hospitals, in all settings.