Skip to main content
A Singapore Government Agency Website How to identify
Official website links end with .gov.sg
Secure websites use HTTPS
Look for a lock () or https:// as an added precaution. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Scam alert: Beware of emails impersonating MOH that request for a mandatory “Digital Health Verification”.


MOH does not own this portal and will only request verification via official channels. If in doubt, call the MOH hotline at 6325 9220 to verify the email’s authenticity.

Ministry of Health
Parliamentary QA

SINGAPOREANS PURCHASING MEDICATIONS FOR CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS OVERSEAS

3 November 2026

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1351

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 3 NOVEMBER 2026

 

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Victor Lye

MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC


Question No. 3027

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has studied (i) the number of Singaporeans purchasing chronic medications overseas and (ii) price differentials for commonly prescribed chronic medications between Singapore and comparable markets including Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand; and (b) whether greater use of pool procurement, reference pricing, or regulated parallel sourcing could reduce medication costs and expenditure under CHAS and MediSave.


Answer

1            The Ministry of Health (MOH) does not track the number of Singaporeans who purchase chronic medications overseas.  Prices paid by other countries are also confidential commercial information. 

2            It is common practice for pharmaceutical companies to maintain price differentials for patented drugs across geographical markets, taking into account the the size and purchasing power of the markets. For a small market that is deemed to have high purchasing power, Singapore’s position is not advantageous. 

3            To manage drug prices for the public healthcare sector, we adopt various strategies such as pooled procurement and value-based pricing negotiations that take into account overseas drug prices where relevant. We have had some successes, for example, through the Cancer Drug List mechanism, we could secure better pricing for cancer drugs. These strategies apply to drugs for chronic diseases too.