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Ministry of Health
Parliamentary QA

Trend of Medical Bills and Arrears for Foreign Workers

29 January 2016

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Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef
Marine Parade GRC

Question No. 5

To ask the Minister for Health (a) what has been the trend of medical bills for foreign workers in the last 5 years; and (b) what have been the average size of these bills and the arrears incurred in our restructured hospitals especially for those with more serious diagnoses.

Written Reply

1.        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.

2.        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.