Delivery fees are subsidised though lower for higher birth order

11 Apr 2007, Today

Question

Name of the Person: See Lay Keng

A penalty for having more children

I am due to deliver my fourth child in a few weeks' time. Friends and relatives who have heard about my pregnancy have congratulated me and my husband for helping to up the national birth rate despite the impending Goods and Services Tax hike.

We enjoy raising our children and thus do not mind having more if we can afford it. We are not well-to-do but with a little sacrifice and belt-tightening, we can still enjoy family life with the new addition.

I was shocked recently when I checked with KK Hospital about the admission and hospitalisation charges for the delivery of my fourth child. If I book a B1 ward, the estimated bill size for the fourth child is $2,840, while that of the first to third child is $2,210. As the Medisave claimable is fixed in all cases, I am expected to pay an initial cash payment of $1,140 for the coming delivery, instead of $510 for the first to third child. The difference is a significant sum.

I was told that the charges by the doctor for the fourth birth is about double that of the first to third births. For example, for a normal delivery, an associate consultant will charge $1,057.80 for a fourth child but will charge $456.80 for the first to third child.

I am bewildered. Am I being penalised for having more children? I thought with our low national birth rate, the government is trying desperately to encourage all those who can to have more children. Or is this an old policy that has not been changed to reflect the current situation?

Reply

Reply from MOH 

Delivery fees are subsidised though lower for higher birth order

In "A penalty for having more children" (Today, 3 April 2007), Ms See Lay Keng asked why KKH's delivery charges for 4th order births are higher compared to lower order births. 

Delivery fees depend on the class of ward chosen and the birth order. Subsidies for higher order births are lower to reinforce the message that couples should plan their family size in accordance to what they can afford