OPERATING EXPENDITURE FOR THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

NOTICE PAPER NO. 588

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 4 MARCH 2026

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song

MP for Aljunied GRC

Question No. 1706

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) what specific factors led to the $0.31 billion projected reduction in the Ministry’s revised FY2025 operating expenditure compared to the initial estimates; and (b) how does the Ministry reconcile lower-than-projected funding needs for public healthcare institutions with the increased care demands of a rapidly ageing population.

Answer

1.       The reduction in MOH’s estimated Financial Year (FY) 2025 operating expenditure of $310 million is about 1.6% of the total initial estimate of $18.80 billion.  It is mainly due to lower-than-expected increases in operating costs at the public healthcare clusters, and is within an accepted margin of budget variance.

2.       Overall, MOH’s operating expenditure maintains an upward trajectory. The revised FY2025 estimate of $18.49 billion is $1.63 billion or 9.7% higher than the actual FY2024 operating expenditure. The trend of increase will continue, as shown by the Estimated FY2026 operating expenditure of $20.04 billion.