OUT-OF-POCKET HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE BY INCOME QUINTILE OVER PAST FIVE YEARS AND PROPORTION OF HOUSEHOLDS EXCEEDING 10% OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME THRESHOLD

NOTICE PAPER NO. 985

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 5 AUGUST 2026

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Hamid Razak

MP for West Coast-Jurong West GRC

Question No. 1672

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) what is the median and 90th percentile annual out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure of resident households by income quintile over the past five years; and (b) whether the Ministry monitors the proportion of households whose out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure exceeds 10% of household income.

Answer

1.             Based on the latest Household Expenditure Survey (HES) in 2023, the annual out-of-pocket (OOP) healthcare expenditure per household member by income quintile is shown in Table 1, prior to any assistance through MediFund and/or charity.

Table 1: Median and 90th percentile annual OOP healthcare expenditure per household member among resident households in 2023, by income quintile^[1] (excluding households with no monthly income from employment)

2.             The Ministry of Health does not monitor the proportion of households whose OOP healthcare expenditure exceeds 10% of household income.  Needy patients may speak to a medical social worker at the institution where they are receiving care, to apply for MediFund assistance.

^[1] Based on ranking of all resident households by their monthly income from employment (excluding employer CPF contributions) per household member. Foreign domestic workers are excluded when computing per member values for income and expenditure.