Ya, gives you more Def, but at a cause of RNG to insurance claims, because you are thrown to a insurance company and they may or may not pay you should the need arises.
Eldershield: Pros: Provides severe disability coverage of up to SGD$400/month for 72 months. Cons: Can only be used at Level 40 and above. Can only be equipped if user is unable to do 3 activities of daily living.
As a Singaporean, I have to agree. We have a great healthcare system, even though locals don't always appreciate it. I don't have to worry about medical bills because of Medisave and insurance plans that allow me to use Medisave to pay the premiums, thus increasing my coverage. Some people say the govt control too much in Singapore's healthcare, I say the control has prevented healthcare providers from becoming purely profit-driven, which only hurts the people.
Drop those fuckers in America, and watch them beg for their old healthcare system. They always complain until they realize that theirs is way better. XD
DuffinCaprous Doesn't change the fact that 'Murica is objectively worse. More expensive, less comprehensive, and worse outcomes. People from Singapore should be grateful for their healthcare system.
Diana Peña And your point being? Did anyone say that the US had a better system? No, you just decided to randomly bad mouth the United States in a video that had little to do with the US. I'm not inclined to care about your opinion.
You are wrong in one thing... Singapore is not homogeneous. It's a multicultural society with Indians, Malays and people originally from all over southern China. It also has a TON of western, Filipino and other expats. The government works hard to promote harmony between very diverse communities.
Holy shit. It's almost like Singapore doesn't let politics ruin everything. I really wish the US wasn't so caught up in partisanship and fundamentalism.
i want to start a movement to make Texas:USA ratio, the opposite of Hong Kong:china. Basicly Hong Kong is Considered part of china due to a treaty, but really is a independent city-state. I want Texas to be considered its own country, but still part of the USA military and political wise.
matt kelly I hate to break this to texans, but texas has the same damn problems that the rest of the country enjoys. Texas is no more special than any other state. P.S. Please stop sending Bushes to Washington.
Vadix Vadexi That may be true, but it is certainly not established as the reason healthcare works so much better over there. I would need to see something to support that correlation.
www.heritage.org/index/ranking It is no surprise that the most economically free countries in the world are also the best and richest places in the world to live. On the flip side, the worst places in the world to live are the ones with the most government control.
Singaporean here, and thanks very much Healthcare Triage for doing this video. Frankly a lot of my fellow citizens don't fully understand our own system, so it's good to see you weigh in on it.
only in singapore do you find a healthcare system that is analogous to a video game life bar system (health, armor, shield medkit) i wonder if the people that made that system were gamers
As a singaporean I dont have Insurance, but that's no issue, most(almost all) common healthcare needs are covered by the government. Proud to live in a country where the government actually works for the people.
"and very homogenous" nooooot really. Singapore is one of the most religiously and racially diverse countries in the world. Far from homogenous. Places like Thailand, Japan, France, etc are homogenous. But definitely not Singapore.
Fals3Agent Homogeneity is hard to define define, sure Thailand may be primarily inhabited by people of the Asians race, it's quite diverse ethnically. France is no longer as homogenize due to the older immigration from North Africa and the newer economic migrants from the Middle East.
@@Amidat Majority of France(same culture same language), US, Britain(speaks English as the first language), Thailand(90% buddhist and speaks thai as first language) is more homogenous than Singapore. You could not find a more heterogenous nation than Singapore, different language, different dialect, different races, different ethnic, different religions, different culture, different way of eating(barehands, chopsticks, fork spoon), different food, different values.
People keep saying Singapore is socialist and only one governing party runs the country. That's far from the truth, and I think people who aren't Singaporeans ought not to make such judgements without full and proper investigation. The PAP has led Singapore to success for a long time. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Why would the citizens want to throw in another governing party, possibly toppling the balance of the country's running? Well, Singapore's doing quite well and I think we'll keep on doing better. We're not communist. Simple as that.
We are not communist in the sense of the Reds... but we are socialized by necessity... mostly, it is better to think in terms of needs rather than pure ideology.
+BioCapsule US is more socialized than Singapore, mind you. At least Spore does not have unemployment insurance. you name it Social security, medicare, etc in the states, just they have a implementation/systems that is sucks to the ground.
enkii82 Oh too true... it is so much less socialized mainly because of certain deeply conservative beliefs some elements of the still government held. Granted Asian conservativism is not the same as the US... but still problematic in the long run. Some of US's problem with system while due to the corporate greed & partisan politics. Certain parts is kind of by design... mainly for the difficulty of convincing anything to be centralized. Just age of consent alone for example... it's the only country in the world with that have a set of laws for each state. While it provide a great deal of flexibility in many areas... it also creates a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy in areas which could have done better without. It certainly doesn't help when the conservative party has basically gone over the deep end.
It's worth noting that while it's not a good time being poor in Singapore, the vast majority of Singaporeans live in public housing, and there is consequently almost no homelessness. Having a roof over their heads gives Singaporeans a bedrock from which to climb back out that's more forgiving than in the US.
I'm a Singaporean, and I have to say I'm extremely thankful I've been brought up in a society where we can almost take medical coverage for granted, really. I've seen my older relatives go in and out of the hospital for various conditions related to old age, but I've barely seen many financial concerns. We honestly have an amazing quality of healthcare, amazing safety nets to help the less privileged in society, and still have huge amount of flexibility in your medical coverage, while making sure nobody is left out. I interned at a financial advisory company recently, and I've really been exposed to many of the private choices for healthcare as well. I can say with confidence that I won't have to worry about my healthcare expenditure in the foreseeable future, which makes me really glad to be Singaporean. (:
It's hilarious because my grandmother is very wealthy in Malaysia but because of how shit the place is, they cannot save her. 0 doctors working on Christmas eve, entire state of Johor having 1 operating MRI. Can you believe this?
I love all of the comments from the Americans. Every reason and excuse how the numbers don't accurately reflect reality and how somehow their healthcare system is still number one in the world. You need to factor in culture, you need to ignore availability, there are problems with illegal immigrants. Step one is admitting you have a problem. Yes, compared to many places I rather be in the US in a hospitable than say the middle east, but compared to other first world countries, you suck at health care. If you have coverage the US can provide great care, but the problem is that is a pretty damn big if. Stop pretending everything is great because it's past funny now, it's just getting sad.
Sure, our healthcare sucks compared to some. I just haven't seen convincing reasons that it isn't in part due to how much healthcare research we Americans end up funding. Would the world have as good healthcare if the US didn't spend so much on it and let everyone else benefit? And not many people here trust our government to efficiently involve itself in healthcare either.
I AM sure that most other countries health care is provided by the government with public funds. In Singapore we are different is the monies are forced paid by us whether you like it or not. We all start paying CPF about 50 years ago and the medisave was started much later. So comparing to other country is different. Medisave is our money and to co-pay is no right as only insurance whereas it was started for our medical needs when we old. Now LHL came in and tweet it and tweet it until most people do not understand. When I told the doctors i do not need to see him as I cannot pay and I AM not sick. The doctor ask me to use Medisave and told the cashier to do it. It is only than I found out that there is co-payment.
Patrick Boo Sorry , but I'm really curious so I hope you wouldn't mind me asking you a question? I hope you won't be offended by the question nor my poor grammar. Just wondering, if the government in Singapore does not force the people to put money into the CPF, would the people retain sufficient funds to provide and support themselves when they retire? Also, would they have enough funds to pay for healthcare? Because I somehow, see the government acting as a 'parent' for fear that the people would not be able to pay their bills, etc after retirement/ for their large healthcare cost. And...Other countries have high tax systems of up to 40% where they do cover healthcare for the people. However, as the people are living longer due to medical advancement, are the government able to keep paying for the people? Wouldn't it amount to a large amount that would eat away the country reserve? And where would they get the money to cover that and still upgrade the country? Wouldn't it result in higher tax rate? Since the population is also dwindling, would the burden fall onto the shoulder of lesser people= heavier weight to bear due to high tax rate? And due to higher tax rate= higher cost of living= the citizens having a harder time. Won't there be more pressure for the people instead? Thanks for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day.
Please do not compare for there is never a comparison in any thing as we all works differently and thinks differently in every society. There is this saying, THE grass is greener at your neighbor garden and it that TRUE?
as a singaporean, this means alot. thanks healthcare triage for doing this video on singapore healthcare. and by the by there is a percentage of singaporeans who are quite ungrateful for the effective healthcare system provided for us. this is usually due to lack of exposual to other healthcare systems in other parts of the world. and to those singaporeans reading this, please think for yourselfs and stop blaming the government for every increase in cost or policies not in your favor. there are 5.4million of us and the goverment of the main and upcoming party are doing their best. stop blaming the P.A.P, god knows where we would be without them.
Had no ideea Singapore had such a good healthcare program , well done and I hope people from other countries will press their politicians to change things or go away
@Muzik21 regardless, Singapore has one of the best Healthcare system in the world. I know having experience what is overseas and in Singapore. Those who say otherwise have not seen much out of Singapore. Stayed in A&E for one night for an antibiotics drip. Half of it was subsidized and the remaining from my insurance. None OUT of POCKET except for some creams and medicine which did not amount to SGD 10.
How about an episode at some point on the pros/cons of breastfeeding and formula during the first year or so of an infant's life. There is a lot of passion and conflicting information on the subject. It would be good to see a decent rundown of the research.
You were saying Singapore government "unusually" listens to the citizen's needs unlike US? Well, there's something evil called "lobbying" that corrupts our government to its core. Stop lobbying solves all.
Get money out of politics. Big corporations buy our politicians through these lobbyist and during their free time all they do is beg for more money. Rid the politicians of this money and they will be free to work for a better future.
***** Many Americans seem to have this dichotomic view of politics that anything that's not free-for-all capitalism is communism... You can have more socially based policies without being a communist state you know... On the other hand, if you were being sarcastic, I do apologise. Carry on good sir! We need a punctuation mark for sarcasm.
lamestbiokinectic While you're absolutely correct, one may argue that Singapore is a single party, so it should be even more inefficient. However, having one party doesn't mean that everybody within agrees. So it's more like having numerous parties within a party, and that's good. And because there's one party, it's extremely easy to pass and repeal laws.
The pie chart is mistaken. He says two third is from private but it illustrates one third. A fatal mistake because people tend to attracted by images more than words.
Singapore benefits from expensive housing. You have to be well off to live there. People that are well off generally don't have genetic disorders or other health concerns. I would love to move there someday.
If the population is relatively healthy, spending is always reduced. Singapore's approach to public healthcare is pre-emptive, multi-dimensional, almost clinical (no pun intended). Beneficiaries are typically local and permanent residents. Foreigners pay private rates. - Regulation of alcohol and tobacco consumption through high taxes. - A complete ban on drugs (traffickers are often hanged) - Pressure on manufacturers to reduce sugar content and the possible introduction of sugar taxes. - A majority of food stalls offer at least one healthier option per stall. - Healthier choice labelling on products carried by supermarkets. - Almost all public schools have removed fried items and sugary drinks from the menu. - All public schools require children with high BMI to attend a mandatory fitness programme conducted before/after school. - Public schools offer free dental to children below the age of 19 (citizens), subsidized rates for PRs. - Military conscription of able-bodied males and with it, an annual fitness test until the 30s (cash incentives for passing, remedial training if you fail). - Subsidized fitness facilities (Weekday rates, Pool = 0.73 USD/visit, Gym = 1.82 USD/visit). - Subsidized annual health screenings (Aged 40 and above pay 3.65 USD at participating family clinics). - Community screening events (free) to raise awareness on common health issues. (E.g Diabetes, High blood pressure, Breast cancer). - Parks within walking distance no matter where you stay. (occasional freebies, e.g. wearable devices for clocking 10,000 steps a day). This is by no means exhaustive. Excluding genetic predisposition and age related issues, it takes plenty of poor lifestyle choices to land yourself in the hospital!
I am a Singaporean. I find the healthcare system to be awesome. I had a surgery and it only cost me $100? However, I disagree with the 20% cut in our wages to be placed inside our CPF account. We have to hit a mininum sum before we are even allowed to withdraw from our CPF account when we turn 55. The sum is insane for the lower class (about SGD 200000/ USD 150000+). That is the sum increases each year to adjust for inflation, the mininum sum always get higher and more and more people are unable to hit that said amount. Imagine you are 55 and have worked for 30 years and have$170000 in your CPF account. You still are unable to withdraw any money. That is the big issue among Singaporeans in recent times.
I'm a Singaporean too and i also find the healthcare system to be awesome. As for CPF, it's a mandatory savings plan for Singaporeans and PRs. It's to help CPF members meet their basic needs during their old age. There is a minimum sum of SGD155,000 to be in CPF and you can withdraw any excess after you turn 55. If there was no minimum sum, then people will be free to use the lump sum of money they have accumulated over the years as they please when they reach 55. We read reports of sudden lottery millionaires who have lost their money within a few years or months. That's because some people don't know how to handle this new found wealth. I don't want that and if Singapore were to allow for such withdrawels, can you guarantee that there will not be a significant increase in people who are homeless and in debt? Of course there will be some people who are financially capable and skilled to grow this lump sum of money and manage it even better but the bigger concern is what Singapore needs to do if anyone is allowed to withdraw everything. I'm happy with this savings plan. I'm grateful for the Singapore government as it truly cares for the people and is relatively responsive. Don't equate caring for people as giving them what they want always. Of course there will always be individual cases where things didn't turn out well for this person or that person. This happens in every country. What matters more is the government is learning and improving over time. I'm proud to be a Singaporean living here in Singapore.
I thought about that when I was watching the video and thought they might have found a solution to it like allowing certain amounts to be withdrawn over certain periods of time. Has this issue been fixed since the video was released?
Thank you for your ongoing series. As a Canadian expat living in the US, I've found your videos to be quite accurate (though somewhat lacking in local flavor). Please keep up the great work!
Actually the letters for the wards are only for public hospital in private hospitals all have air conditioning and maximum of 4 beds but for public hospital usually b2 and c dont have air conditioning but in some hospitals there is air conditioning for b2 and c to ( public hospital)
Hearing an outsider view of Singapore and its system of government is fascinating...a citizen of Singapore, depending on who you ask, would have a completely different story to tell.
There's been some interesting social science research in the past few decades which have shown that more uniform groups of people are more likely to accept greater levels of social spending. I don't know if that means that the US would have to become less diverse for this to happen, though. It's all very interesting.
Garrett Kajmowicz Canada is a country that prides itself on multiculturalism and has many diverse groups and always has yet it has universal healthcare so that's not accurate.
+Yeahbaby225 because they think if US has not done it, no one in the world has done it. wait .. the world... i mean .. literally the world outside the US. haha
For whatever reason Americans, and thus the American political parties, are so anti-government intervention on principle that they avoid talking about single payer systems like the plague, despite the fact that instituting one would make more fiscal sense.
Yeahbaby225 This might shock you, but Obamacare's relative "ineffectiveness" stems purely from the Republican hysteria and constant blocking. This is coming from a SGean.
Obamacare had some potential, particularly if it was willing to do things that makes other countries work better, like reference pricing for drugs and cost control measures, allowing people to buy Medicare coverage, many individual states refusing to implement important parts of it, and important provisions in the law were removed over time. Obamacare had a pretty decent model as far as modern welfare liberalism is concerned and probably would have had outcomes that would have made is comparable to any other developed countries if it had important measures included. The basic idea of an individual mandate, non ability to deny pre existing conditions, subsidies for low to moderate incomes, and public healthcare for old and poor people, that wasn't a bad way, but all proposals need to have important details or else they're likely to fail.
After seeing a few of these videos, I am curious: from a Doctor/HCA standpoint, what would the ultimate healthcare system look like, if you could cobble it together from the multiple systems shown?
I think he'd tell you that he doesn't know. All he knows is that the only way to get the best system is to try different things and see what works, rather than stubbornly holding onto something that doesn't, just because you believe in it. That's the Singapore way! If anyone is going to find the perfect system first, it'll be them.
There is no ultimate healthcare system, as each system needs to be tailored to the specific needs of a country's specific population. A country's economic system, it's population, its geographic distribution, and its gender, racial, religious, and other kinds of distributions will all serve to change how each healthcare system will affect a country.
Singapore is not homologous. It is the most religious diverse country, it has 4 official languages and has holidays for every major ethic and religious groups.
I got the shock of my life when I saw that Healthcare Triage did a video on my tiny little country! More than interesting to see our healthcare put across by someone on the outside.
Eldershield has been replaced with Careshield which covers everyone. Time to update the video? But good job with this effort from 2014. Still mostly relevant. I could sense the frustration in seeing partisan attempts to misuse Singapore for their own politics. It is refreshing to see an outsider understand that our approach is neither conservative small government nor liberal big government. I've always said that US two-party politics swing from thesis to anti-thesis, from liberal to conservative, from arguing over big government vs small government, but never getting to synthesis, never realising that the voters don't want big government nor small government. They want COMPETENT government - a government that works! For them! Not their politician's self interests. But yes. Good video.
Also at 0:33, "I'm not an international Political Expert, but sources I trust do not describe Singapore as a dictatorship..." So nice to hear a foreigner taking the trouble to understand Singapore, instead of making snap judgement like "Disneyland with a death penalty".
Saddem Gargouri should do one on North Korea since there is no such thing as hospitals and healthcare before their great leader and maybe there will again be none after. That's why they so "whole heatedly" hold on to their beloved Kims.
I wouldn't make a sweeping statement that the "market failed". Singapore pays less and 2/3rd's is privately funded. I'm guessing you meant to say "a full laissez faire market". You did make a convincing case for the ruthless, profit-hungry market not having full control (this is coming from a Libertarian, mind you). Very interesting video, good job.
Daniel Macias The market is neither ruthless nor benevolent, it simply maximizes profit and you can't maximize profit by providing healthcare to everyone. It can, however, improve efficiency and keep costs down. Every country now has a mix of the two, Singapore is just more pro-active and nimble about striking the best balance possible, whereas others get bogged down in the politics of it.
+Daniel Macias Singapore is not a full-laissez faire market. it's the middle path!! in between free market and government intervention, they don't believe in both extremes, they believe what actually works practically.
Wong Tik Ki people have always maximized profit. People also have a sense of humanity and community. The key is to balance them all together, not to suppress this or that because u think it’s evil.
This souds like a pretty good way to do healthcare. The biggest problem I see for the Us is that fact that most of our hospitals are not run by the government so creating different classe so service would be difficult. They are however non-profit and so their goals pretty much align with the patients.
Medisave is our money which are force to contribute and to use when we are old, needs more medical care and instead of allowing us to do it at the poly clinics and day care, we are restricted to such a point that it is impossible to use. So for me it will be for my coffin when I die? For those often sick people, they usually do not have medisave for they are in hospital too often and it is the country to help.
Whilst the Healthcare system in Singapore works and we have a great Government, there is still room for improvement. So, don't be carried away by a foreigner's rose tinted glasses. Healthcare premiums under Medishield and Eldershield are not cheap compared to our low wages.. Please remember that we do not have minimum wage in Singapore and the income gap between the rich and poor is huge. Our GDP per capita is one of the highest in the world and yet, some employees in healthcare and eldercare facilities are paid about US$300 per month.
As a Singaporean living in UK, I think other policy areas also matter when it comes to healthcare. For example, Singapore has fewer drug and alcohol problems due to severe penalty for drug offences and high prices of alcohol. Unlike in UK where A&E are overwhelmed by drug and alcohol related admission during weekends!
2:08 - "About two thirds of health care spending is private, about one third is public." Graph: Public spending = 2/3 of pie chart (light green) Private spending = 1/3 of pie chart (orange) 🤔🤔🤔🤔
Although I am very economically right leaning, and most of my peers would advocate for complete free-market healthcare, I think this system is better. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to know that free-market healthcare is extremely effective and I wish that that were the case. But, as stated in the video, free market healthcare with no government control will not be great and I have seen no evidence of it working as Right Libertarians believe it will. This Singaporean model however, sounds plausible and sounds like the best solution to $1000 trips in the wee woo wagon that take a grand total of 2 minutes. I would even sign off on a Swiss healthcare system, I really like both. I might change a few things, making it slightly more private than public and a little less government control, but that’s it.
Cool video! Although some people don't really appreciate the CPF account, since part of your salary is ""taken"" away, this shows a nice breakdown and simple to digest infomation!
Absolutely. Let each of the 50 states regain the independence they were meant to have. More variety means more models to be tested and learned from. Instead an overly strong federal system makes rules that fit to the lowest common denominator and enforces it.
Hi, I am a Singapore. I am fascinated whenever I see non-Singaporeans heaping praise on our healthcare system. It is a common sentiment amongst Singaporeans that healthcare is NOT affordable. Rather than launch into a rant, here's a few things to consider: 1. My (private) healthcare in was cheaper in Australia than in Singapore. (I studied in Australia and had to seek investigations and specialist care on my basic student insurance.) Healthcare in Singapore is "so cheap" because a substantial proportion of the costs are shifted to patients, and the system is smart enough to ensure patients pay up. 2. The healthcare experience in Singapore's PUBLIC healthcare system is unsatisfactory. It's not about poor healthcare, but poor healthcare experience, mostly relating to poor communication and/or bedside manner. Form an affordability perspective, wouldn't you be more willing to pay for a service if you were satisfied with it? 3. There are structural inefficiencies that need to be addressed. E.g. A large private primary care system that is not congruous with the public hospital system, against the backdrop of an overburdened public primary care system. And structural inefficiencies cost big money. A patriotic Singaporean may berate my response as ignorant complaints of ingratitude, but I speak as someone who as a real interest in my country having a robust healthcare system - I am a fresh medical graduate.
then given the points you have listed, a patriotic singaporean who berates you response as ignorant would not be patriotic at all. to be patriotic is to be involved and wanting improvements in your nation for its good, and also for you and your loved ones' best interests.
Thank you for the information. One thing i agree with is the medical saving account. This incitives people to not abuse the system because their spending their own money from their labor.
It frustration thst people keep insisting governments the answer and its not. Competing for Profit isnt evil, it beneficial for everyone. It keeps cost down and provides better service.
Also, heres some good services from the private sector that you can look into if you're interested. Cash only clinics: these are very affordable clinics in the US to bypass extremely expensive insurance regulations. Good RX: medical coupons, ive literally cut 60% off my meds from using this. GoFundMe. Com: A website that focuses on medical charity. 50% of US healthcare is paid by charity, no cost to patient! The private sector has been unfairly criticized.
Will you do an episode about the Dutch system? Because it's really interesting. It's good in its ideas, but it's so expensive, both to the government and to the people, because of all the bureaucracy and pointless rules.
1. We have a mandatory savings policy, meaning a percentage of your salary MUST be saved (excluding employer contribution), so it directly lowers your month disposable income. However, the mandatory percentage is flexible, so as to facilitate bad times such as a recession, where the percentage is decreased) 2. Even though the healthcare system is extensive, Singaporeans usually don't bother getting to know the system themselves, leading to many misunderstandings and imperfect information. 3. We can swiftly make amendments to anything simply due to the way the country is run. The ruling party has over 60%(percentage of votes needed to pass new policies) of seats in parliament. Most other countries probably cant do this. 4. Singaporeans are overall alot healthier. all males aged 18 have to undergo 2 years of mandatory military service. After which, on randomly decided years for about 10+- cycles, said males have to return for several weeks of re-service in order to maintain combat readiness. Failure to meet certain physical standards might result in longer service periods. As such citizens as a whole are incentivised to stay healthy. Many other countries do not have such a system. Some might have mandatory service, but not all have re-service. well, these are just afew i can think up off the top of my head. there are alot more flaws to our system, but i will admit. even with our flaws, just taking a look at other countries' system will make me contented. I remember going for surgery to remove an impacted tooth cost me just 400 SGD at a private medical centre. Of course, many of the benefits only apply to citizens or permanent residents
At some point, would it be possible for you to describe a healthcare system that you believe would best fit the United States in terms of health outcomes, cost, social positions and any other factors you may deem relevant? Addressing such a question would certainly be difficulty but I think the answer may be of great interest to your viewers.
If you build up a certain amount in your medical savings, can you withdraw it or stop contributing further? I'm wondering if the system incentivises people to use the services minimally.
Let me answer that, at age 65 there is a minimum amount you must maintain in the medical savings, anything more than the minimum you can actually withdraw them. If you pass away before finishing that medical savings, the medical saving account will be closed and the left over money will be distributed to your beneficiaries without paying any form of tax
Generally you should wish for Sweden or Denmark as comparisons, Norway have insane amount of oil and are therefore so much richer that it dosen't hardly make sense to compare Norway to Denmark or Sweden - A Dane GDP pr capita 2014: Norway 99,600 $ Denmark 56,400 $ Sweden 55,200 $
Do you think when you've covered all the healthcare systems you plan to you could do a video on common health issues among transgender people? Maybe something about the health risks hypothesized to come about due to hormone therapy, or the risks and benefits of surgery.
Singapore's healthcare system is so unique. Are there any other countries in the world that have systems similar to this? I enjoy how they cater to everyone. They offer rooms that are private and cost more, or they offer a plan that will be covered by the government. I enjoy how they make people take money out of their paychecks to go to healthcare savings plans. It makes them somewhat accountable for their own healthcare. It is also amazing that they actually encourage people to have babies- when it is a very expensive process here in America. I wonder why this plan works so well for Singapore. Would this work as well here in America?
The thing is... Singapore does have conditions & factors that are rather unique. It also effects many other issue beyond healthcare. For example... it is likely one of the most expensive places to own a car by design, to discourage car ownership and rely on public transport, because it is too small & densely populated to allow too many vehicles or heavy pollution. A lot of things that works here, will not work in other places without significant alterations. America also have the resources to cover more so a more comprehensive coverage & possibly mobile one might be better, especially for it's geographical size. There are also very significant differences between Singaporean's cultural mentality and Americans. However the most significant problem I think the US face isn't the lack of a socialized system that would work but rather getting American conservatives to agree to it.
enkii82 sorry, but i don't agree. a lady from my church who was from malaysia (now a PR in singapore) fell during chinese new year in malaysia. she visited 2 clinics there who could not treat her/treated her inadequately and she had to drive all the way back to singapore to find out she broke her leg and dislocated her ankle.
Thank you for these videos. I barely knew about my own healthcare system, let alone the basic structure of other countries, which helps me form an opinion on my healthcare system and see where changes should/could be made. Thanks!
Hey could you all do a country here that has over $150 million people. You know, one that has at least half as many people as the US. The scalability of countries like Singapore and Sweden I question for as big geographically and population as US. Singapore helps because they can centralize services. PS Im a psychologist, they recruit us all the time to go over and work in Singapore. Interesting they outsource
So basically, Singapore thought that free-market competition would make healthcare cheaper, and then proved the exact opposite. And yet people STILL insist it would totally work.
I guess if you're the country with the highest population density worldwide, that'll help a lot in the way of providing healthcare evenly and efficiently. Take Germany for example: Life expectancy will differ by 3-4 years between sparsely populated parts of Bavaria and the cluttered, more affluent suburbs of e. g. Hamburg or Stuttgart. Also, I am always wary when it comes to Singaporean politics. What their regime offer them (if really they do) in terms of healthcare is surely outweighted by the dire human rights and press freedom situation as well as the heavy policing.
Its been decades since people "disappeared". So not so bad. Worst thing that happens these days is you publish something clearly untrue/that you can't back up and you get sued/lose your govt job. Once or twice per year, usually only the really stupid/suicidal get hit by it. And the media is a mouthpiece for the ruling party (political parties cannot advertise so its news only, but the ruling party gets most of the news coverage under the generic term "government"). On the flipside, we still have the internet, which i think only blocks (symbolically) certain types of pornography and a few which incite hatred/adultery. Policing is insufficient. There was a foreign worker riot and the police commissioner was screaming that he has insufficient manpower. Mainly because we look down on being part of the police as a "low class job".
That’s mostly consistent with what I had in mind. But also: death row convictions for a colourful assortment of felonies and corporal punishment for a even wider range of possible offences, then we have our non-exisitant LGBT rights, and, sure, finally: Everything goes tits up in the 2013 Little India riot, but God forbid you dare to import a bloody chewing gum or dirty magazine.
Death row convictions is roughly stuff in which people get killed, kidnapping (roughly because you state intent to kill when ransoming), guns and drugs. Its not particularly colorful. The only controversial ones are guns and drugs. The gun penalty is here for good reason - zero guns in SG. One shooting in many many years, and that one was smuggled in and used to kill some sort of gang leader. For drugs its only drug dealers/traffickers, not consumption. I think its fair enough - you are profiting from screwing over people's lives. Its quite close to slavery if you think about it. LGBT rights are "officially, its illegal to be gay". But there's also no enforcement and a statement was issued to that effect. Its ironically there because the electorate likes it there. In fact every year there's a pink dot event for LGBT rights and the only opposition comes from religious groups. As for things like marriage, ditto for the rest of Asia. For chewing gum, well because irresponsible people, we cannot have good things. Although they won't really stop you if you bring it in for your own use. Just don't bring a load in. Don't know anything about dirty magazines. But why would you need that, there's the internet...
The reason the competition hurt the healthcare industry is because of the ward system. The higher wards that were privately funded got priority. If there were a true free market then the incentives would be in place to serve the masses. Think Honda being the dominant instead of Ferrari, If lower class cars were price controlled and came with more overhead and regulations then Honda would prioritize higher priced cars that didn't.
Sir Iodine B class wards also have air conditioning and but you have fewer patients per room, maybe 4 to 6. If C class wards are full they'd shift you to B class wards and B class standard services but you still get that pricing and 80% subsidy of a C class ward.
The willingness to change is HUGE like you said. However, there is NO WAY you could get a tiered system like that without an uproar of how the rich get so much better care in their A wards than the poorest do in their C wards
But it's Optional and healthcare is the same no matter what ward u choose u still get the same healthcare no matter what ward u choose plus would u rather have pepol forced to choose the most expensive ward and being forced to pay the full price or it being Optional
It's not hard to explain why, Singapore has more government involvement and less corruption. The US is set up so the more the government involves itself in an issue the more likely it is to get corrupted against its original honest intent. Before teabaggers jump in claiming I'm a fellow libertarian, that's not really a criticism of the US government, it's a criticism of the awful state of our socioeconomic environment
Slightly confused by how the speech and pie chart about the proportion of public and private spending around 2:08 - speech says two thirds is private and one third is public, but the chart shows the opposite. Which is correct?
There are various forms of national health care system that work pretty well in East Asia. The key takeaway is that the system needs to ensure hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and other medical device suppliers offer competitive and high-quality services meanwhile keeping the cost under control. The greater number of private insurance companies result in higher administrative cost and less bargaining power.
I did not know Singapore's healthcare system was that great. They spend way less than other countries (the U.S.) and achieve outcomes that are incredible. The most unique part is that they use public and private sectors in a good way. The fact that Singapore spent only $2,000 per person on healthcare, compared to $7,000 in the U.S. should tell you a lot. I'm thinking that some of the reason for their success could be due to the private and public spending throughout the healthcare system. Also, workers have to put wages into a private account, which will help them out tremendously. These are the small features that ranked them #6 in the world, so other countries take notes!
The US could never copy SIngapore directly but it could use aspects of such a system at a state level. And monies currently collected in taxation could be used on an individual collection level.
Homogeneous used in this video's context mean one's identity as a SINGAPOREAN. Amongst ourselves, we think " I am Singaporean" instead of "I am Chinese Singaporean" or "I am SINGAPOREAN Chinese". It is obvious amongst ourselves (Singaporeans) what one's ethnicity is and is regarded irrelevant. The identity is of a SINGAPOREAN. Hence the homogenous term used here in this video. SINGAPOREANS, are largely patriotic. Alongside the national anthem, we have a National Pledge. One of the lines goes like this: "We the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion ......"
Why do all of Singapore's healthcare programs sound like they could be items in an RPG?
YOU PICKED UP: 1 MEDISHIELD
I come from Singapore we play to much LoL and Dota 2 and MOBA games I play too much CS
+Redlime i noe rite
Ya, gives you more Def, but at a cause of RNG to insurance claims, because you are thrown to a insurance company and they may or may not pay you should the need arises.
Eldershield:
Pros: Provides severe disability coverage of up to SGD$400/month for 72 months.
Cons: Can only be used at Level 40 and above. Can only be equipped if user is unable to do 3 activities of daily living.
As a Singaporean, I have to agree. We have a great healthcare system, even though locals don't always appreciate it. I don't have to worry about medical bills because of Medisave and insurance plans that allow me to use Medisave to pay the premiums, thus increasing my coverage. Some people say the govt control too much in Singapore's healthcare, I say the control has prevented healthcare providers from becoming purely profit-driven, which only hurts the people.
Drop those fuckers in America, and watch them beg for their old healthcare system. They always complain until they realize that theirs is way better. XD
Diana Peña You realize we don't all like the new system, right? And that not everyone in a country thinks the same way?
DuffinCaprous
Doesn't change the fact that 'Murica is objectively worse. More expensive, less comprehensive, and worse outcomes.
People from Singapore should be grateful for their healthcare system.
Diana Peña And your point being? Did anyone say that the US had a better system? No, you just decided to randomly bad mouth the United States in a video that had little to do with the US. I'm not inclined to care about your opinion.
DuffinCaprous
I can't say #rekt enough times dude, good stuff.
You are wrong in one thing... Singapore is not homogeneous. It's a multicultural society with Indians, Malays and people originally from all over southern China. It also has a TON of western, Filipino and other expats.
The government works hard to promote harmony between very diverse communities.
well 7 out of 10 are ethnic Chinese so they dominate overall - but yeah that's not "homogeneous" either.
Christopher McAnally
So Singapore as no identity
Amidat Although there are more Chinese, racial harmony is still there.
Gourab Kundu Singapore is the identity of everybody. Trust me,I'm Singaporean.
Felix Chua
If anyone can be Singaporean, being Singaporean means nothing at all. It’s literally just a participation trophy.
Holy shit. It's almost like Singapore doesn't let politics ruin everything.
I really wish the US wasn't so caught up in partisanship and fundamentalism.
i want to start a movement to make Texas:USA ratio, the opposite of
Hong Kong:china. Basicly Hong Kong is Considered part of china due to a treaty, but really is a independent city-state. I want Texas to be considered its own country, but still part of the USA military and political wise.
matt kelly I hate to break this to texans, but texas has the same damn problems that the rest of the country enjoys. Texas is no more special than any other state.
P.S. Please stop sending Bushes to Washington.
Singapore is much smaller, so it is easier to keep the government in check.
Vadix Vadexi That may be true, but it is certainly not established as the reason healthcare works so much better over there.
I would need to see something to support that correlation.
www.heritage.org/index/ranking
It is no surprise that the most economically free countries in the world are also the best and richest places in the world to live.
On the flip side, the worst places in the world to live are the ones with the most government control.
Singaporean here, and thanks very much Healthcare Triage for doing this video. Frankly a lot of my fellow citizens don't fully understand our own system, so it's good to see you weigh in on it.
Like how they played our national anthem as the intro song. Nice touch.
only in singapore do you find a healthcare system that is analogous to a video game life bar system (health, armor, shield medkit)
i wonder if the people that made that system were gamers
MWB Gaming you are funny... LMAO
MWB Gaming dude, watch out with that profile pic. You may get someone triggered.
I almost got a mental breakdown because of the healthcare in Singapore
2:10 is the wrong way round on the script or on the screen
@Josh Alfstad फ
@Josh Alfstad ठटॅधपठनपप
@Josh Alfstad एअःअःध
Was looking for this comment lol
As a singaporean I dont have Insurance, but that's no issue, most(almost all) common healthcare needs are covered by the government. Proud to live in a country where the government actually works for the people.
"and very homogenous" nooooot really. Singapore is one of the most religiously and racially diverse countries in the world. Far from homogenous. Places like Thailand, Japan, France, etc are homogenous. But definitely not Singapore.
Fals3Agent Homogeneity is hard to define define, sure Thailand may be primarily inhabited by people of the Asians race, it's quite diverse ethnically. France is no longer as homogenize due to the older immigration from North Africa and the newer economic migrants from the Middle East.
Thailand and France are not homogenous.... Japan is though
@@Amidat Majority of France(same culture same language), US, Britain(speaks English as the first language), Thailand(90% buddhist and speaks thai as first language) is more homogenous than Singapore. You could not find a more heterogenous nation than Singapore, different language, different dialect, different races, different ethnic, different religions, different culture, different way of eating(barehands, chopsticks, fork spoon), different food, different values.
enkii82 Yeah, I literally can use 2-3 different dialects/languages in a single sentence that is incomprehensible to a non-Singaporean.
Disciple of Christ There is no migrants from the Middle East in France
People keep saying Singapore is socialist and only one governing party runs the country. That's far from the truth, and I think people who aren't Singaporeans ought not to make such judgements without full and proper investigation. The PAP has led Singapore to success for a long time. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Why would the citizens want to throw in another governing party, possibly toppling the balance of the country's running?
Well, Singapore's doing quite well and I think we'll keep on doing better. We're not communist. Simple as that.
We are not communist in the sense of the Reds... but we are socialized by necessity... mostly, it is better to think in terms of needs rather than pure ideology.
+BioCapsule US is more socialized than Singapore, mind you. At least Spore does not have unemployment insurance. you name it Social security, medicare, etc in the states, just they have a implementation/systems that is sucks to the ground.
enkii82 Oh too true... it is so much less socialized mainly because of certain deeply conservative beliefs some elements of the still government held. Granted Asian conservativism is not the same as the US... but still problematic in the long run.
Some of US's problem with system while due to the corporate greed & partisan politics. Certain parts is kind of by design... mainly for the difficulty of convincing anything to be centralized. Just age of consent alone for example... it's the only country in the world with that have a set of laws for each state. While it provide a great deal of flexibility in many areas... it also creates a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy in areas which could have done better without. It certainly doesn't help when the conservative party has basically gone over the deep end.
Lyrekem what's socialist
It's worth noting that while it's not a good time being poor in Singapore, the vast majority of Singaporeans live in public housing, and there is consequently almost no homelessness. Having a roof over their heads gives Singaporeans a bedrock from which to climb back out that's more forgiving than in the US.
I'm a Singaporean, and I have to say I'm extremely thankful I've been brought up in a society where we can almost take medical coverage for granted, really. I've seen my older relatives go in and out of the hospital for various conditions related to old age, but I've barely seen many financial concerns. We honestly have an amazing quality of healthcare, amazing safety nets to help the less privileged in society, and still have huge amount of flexibility in your medical coverage, while making sure nobody is left out. I interned at a financial advisory company recently, and I've really been exposed to many of the private choices for healthcare as well. I can say with confidence that I won't have to worry about my healthcare expenditure in the foreseeable future, which makes me really glad to be Singaporean. (:
It's hilarious because my grandmother is very wealthy in Malaysia but because of how shit the place is, they cannot save her. 0 doctors working on Christmas eve, entire state of Johor having 1 operating MRI. Can you believe this?
I love all of the comments from the Americans. Every reason and excuse how the numbers don't accurately reflect reality and how somehow their healthcare system is still number one in the world. You need to factor in culture, you need to ignore availability, there are problems with illegal immigrants.
Step one is admitting you have a problem. Yes, compared to many places I rather be in the US in a hospitable than say the middle east, but compared to other first world countries, you suck at health care. If you have coverage the US can provide great care, but the problem is that is a pretty damn big if. Stop pretending everything is great because it's past funny now, it's just getting sad.
Sure, our healthcare sucks compared to some. I just haven't seen convincing reasons that it isn't in part due to how much healthcare research we Americans end up funding.
Would the world have as good healthcare if the US didn't spend so much on it and let everyone else benefit?
And not many people here trust our government to efficiently involve itself in healthcare either.
Things are changing. We're getting closer to a one-payer system.
I AM sure that most other countries health care is provided by the government with public funds. In Singapore we are different is the monies are forced paid by us whether you like it or not. We all start paying CPF about 50 years ago and the medisave was started much later. So comparing to other country is different. Medisave is our money and to co-pay is no right as only insurance whereas it was started for our medical needs when we old. Now LHL came in and tweet it and tweet it until most people do not understand. When I told the doctors i do not need to see him as I cannot pay and I AM not sick. The doctor ask me to use Medisave and told the cashier to do it. It is only than I found out that there is co-payment.
Patrick Boo Sorry , but I'm really curious so I hope you wouldn't mind me asking you a question?
I hope you won't be offended by the question nor my poor grammar.
Just wondering, if the government in Singapore does not force the people to put money into the CPF, would the people retain sufficient funds to provide and support themselves when they retire? Also, would they have enough funds to pay for healthcare?
Because I somehow, see the government acting as a 'parent' for fear that the people would not be able to pay their bills, etc after retirement/ for their large healthcare cost.
And...Other countries have high tax systems of up to 40% where they do cover healthcare for the people. However, as the people are living longer due to medical advancement, are the government able to keep paying for the people? Wouldn't it amount to a large amount that would eat away the country reserve?
And where would they get the money to cover that and still upgrade the country? Wouldn't it result in higher tax rate? Since the population is also dwindling, would the burden fall onto the shoulder of lesser people= heavier weight to bear due to high tax rate?
And due to higher tax rate= higher cost of living= the citizens having a harder time.
Won't there be more pressure for the people instead?
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Have a nice day.
Please do not compare for there is never a comparison in any thing as we all works differently and thinks differently in every society. There is this saying, THE grass is greener at your neighbor garden and it that TRUE?
... at approximately 2:10 you say "two thirds of healthcare spending is private, and 1/3 is public..." but the pie chart is the opposite
Yes, that messed me up. 2/3 private
as a singaporean, this means alot. thanks healthcare triage for doing this video on singapore healthcare. and by the by there is a percentage of singaporeans who are quite ungrateful for the effective healthcare system provided for us. this is usually due to lack of exposual to other healthcare systems in other parts of the world.
and to those singaporeans reading this, please think for yourselfs and stop blaming the government for every increase in cost or policies not in your favor. there are 5.4million of us and the goverment of the main and upcoming party are doing their best. stop blaming the P.A.P, god knows where we would be without them.
The infographic shows 2/3 pulbic and 1/3 private!
@2:13-"Two thirds of spending is private" but the graph shows 2/3 being public. Please clarify :)
he added an annotation. The labels were flipped
Healthcare Spending in Singapore pie chart doesn't reflect the information you verbalize sir.
Had no ideea Singapore had such a good healthcare program , well done and I hope people from other countries will press their politicians to change things or go away
@Muzik21 regardless, Singapore has one of the best Healthcare system in the world. I know having experience what is overseas and in Singapore. Those who say otherwise have not seen much out of Singapore. Stayed in A&E for one night for an antibiotics drip. Half of it was subsidized and the remaining from my insurance. None OUT of POCKET except for some creams and medicine which did not amount to SGD 10.
Muzik21 I believe am in a much better system than you to know how well, Singapore’s healthcare system.
How about an episode at some point on the pros/cons of breastfeeding and formula during the first year or so of an infant's life. There is a lot of passion and conflicting information on the subject. It would be good to see a decent rundown of the research.
I think you got private and public mixed up. 2:10
You were saying Singapore government "unusually" listens to the citizen's needs unlike US? Well, there's something evil called "lobbying" that corrupts our government to its core. Stop lobbying solves all.
Get money out of politics. Big corporations buy our politicians through these lobbyist and during their free time all they do is beg for more money. Rid the politicians of this money and they will be free to work for a better future.
***** Many Americans seem to have this dichotomic view of politics that anything that's not free-for-all capitalism is communism...
You can have more socially based policies without being a communist state you know...
On the other hand, if you were being sarcastic, I do apologise. Carry on good sir! We need a punctuation mark for sarcasm.
Not just that, get a government that doesn't suck. 2 housed government? and a 2 party system? Its inefficient as hell
lamestbiokinectic While you're absolutely correct, one may argue that Singapore is a single party, so it should be even more inefficient. However, having one party doesn't mean that everybody within agrees. So it's more like having numerous parties within a party, and that's good. And because there's one party, it's extremely easy to pass and repeal laws.
Ahahahaha.
"Give us your money to lobby to keep money out of politics and stop lobbying"
The pie chart is mistaken. He says two third is from private but it illustrates one third. A fatal mistake because people tend to attracted by images more than words.
Singapore benefits from expensive housing. You have to be well off to live there. People that are well off generally don't have genetic disorders or other health concerns. I would love to move there someday.
If the population is relatively healthy, spending is always reduced. Singapore's approach to public healthcare is pre-emptive, multi-dimensional, almost clinical (no pun intended).
Beneficiaries are typically local and permanent residents. Foreigners pay private rates.
- Regulation of alcohol and tobacco consumption through high taxes.
- A complete ban on drugs (traffickers are often hanged)
- Pressure on manufacturers to reduce sugar content and the possible introduction of sugar taxes.
- A majority of food stalls offer at least one healthier option per stall.
- Healthier choice labelling on products carried by supermarkets.
- Almost all public schools have removed fried items and sugary drinks from the menu.
- All public schools require children with high BMI to attend a mandatory fitness programme conducted before/after school.
- Public schools offer free dental to children below the age of 19 (citizens), subsidized rates for PRs.
- Military conscription of able-bodied males and with it, an annual fitness test until the 30s (cash incentives for passing, remedial training if you fail).
- Subsidized fitness facilities (Weekday rates, Pool = 0.73 USD/visit, Gym = 1.82 USD/visit).
- Subsidized annual health screenings (Aged 40 and above pay 3.65 USD at participating family clinics).
- Community screening events (free) to raise awareness on common health issues. (E.g Diabetes, High blood pressure, Breast cancer).
- Parks within walking distance no matter where you stay. (occasional freebies, e.g. wearable devices for clocking 10,000 steps a day).
This is by no means exhaustive. Excluding genetic predisposition and age related issues, it takes plenty of poor lifestyle choices to land yourself in the hospital!
This was really interesting! But it also reminds me of how bad our system in the US is... :(
I am a Singaporean. I find the healthcare system to be awesome. I had a surgery and it only cost me $100? However, I disagree with the 20% cut in our wages to be placed inside our CPF account. We have to hit a mininum sum before we are even allowed to withdraw from our CPF account when we turn 55. The sum is insane for the lower class (about SGD 200000/ USD 150000+). That is the sum increases each year to adjust for inflation, the mininum sum always get higher and more and more people are unable to hit that said amount. Imagine you are 55 and have worked for 30 years and have$170000 in your CPF account. You still are unable to withdraw any money. That is the big issue among Singaporeans in recent times.
I'm a Singaporean too and i also find the healthcare system to be awesome. As for CPF, it's a mandatory savings plan for Singaporeans and PRs. It's to help CPF members meet their basic needs during their old age. There is a minimum sum of SGD155,000 to be in CPF and you can withdraw any excess after you turn 55. If there was no minimum sum, then people will be free to use the lump sum of money they have accumulated over the years as they please when they reach 55. We read reports of sudden lottery millionaires who have lost their money within a few years or months. That's because some people don't know how to handle this new found wealth. I don't want that and if Singapore were to allow for such withdrawels, can you guarantee that there will not be a significant increase in people who are homeless and in debt? Of course there will be some people who are financially capable and skilled to grow this lump sum of money and manage it even better but the bigger concern is what Singapore needs to do if anyone is allowed to withdraw everything.
I'm happy with this savings plan. I'm grateful for the Singapore government as it truly cares for the people and is relatively responsive. Don't equate caring for people as giving them what they want always. Of course there will always be individual cases where things didn't turn out well for this person or that person. This happens in every country. What matters more is the government is learning and improving over time.
I'm proud to be a Singaporean living here in Singapore.
I thought about that when I was watching the video and thought they might have found a solution to it like allowing certain amounts to be withdrawn over certain periods of time. Has this issue been fixed since the video was released?
Thank you for your ongoing series. As a Canadian expat living in the US, I've found your videos to be quite accurate (though somewhat lacking in local flavor). Please keep up the great work!
Lies again? United Health Care
I'd love to see you make a video about one of the nordic countries.
Same.
Actually the letters for the wards are only for public hospital in private hospitals all have air conditioning and maximum of 4 beds but for public hospital usually b2 and c dont have air conditioning but in some hospitals there is air conditioning for b2 and c to ( public hospital)
Around 2:05 audio does not match graphic.
Jeff Rizza ye. I guess everyone has seen that and just ignored the "minor" mistake there.
Hearing an outsider view of Singapore and its system of government is fascinating...a citizen of Singapore, depending on who you ask, would have a completely different story to tell.
The grass is always greener in the other side.
It's simple: the smaller the government, *the better.*
I would not say small=simple: the more efficient the government, the better.
A little less "everyone for himself" in the USA could go a long way. In pretty much any political topic.
There's been some interesting social science research in the past few decades which have shown that more uniform groups of people are more likely to accept greater levels of social spending. I don't know if that means that the US would have to become less diverse for this to happen, though. It's all very interesting.
Garrett Kajmowicz Canada is a country that prides itself on multiculturalism and has many diverse groups and always has yet it has universal healthcare so that's not accurate.
but but but socialism is bad!!! the free market is the only thing that gives me a boner!!!!!
As an American who is neither a Republican or Democrat, I don't know why the US doesn't follow this model instead of Obamacare. ,,,
+Yeahbaby225 because they think if US has not done it, no one in the world has done it. wait .. the world... i mean .. literally the world outside the US. haha
For whatever reason Americans, and thus the American political parties, are so anti-government intervention on principle that they avoid talking about single payer systems like the plague, despite the fact that instituting one would make more fiscal sense.
Yeahbaby225 This might shock you, but Obamacare's relative "ineffectiveness" stems purely from the Republican hysteria and constant blocking. This is coming from a SGean.
Obamacare had some potential, particularly if it was willing to do things that makes other countries work better, like reference pricing for drugs and cost control measures, allowing people to buy Medicare coverage, many individual states refusing to implement important parts of it, and important provisions in the law were removed over time.
Obamacare had a pretty decent model as far as modern welfare liberalism is concerned and probably would have had outcomes that would have made is comparable to any other developed countries if it had important measures included. The basic idea of an individual mandate, non ability to deny pre existing conditions, subsidies for low to moderate incomes, and public healthcare for old and poor people, that wasn't a bad way, but all proposals need to have important details or else they're likely to fail.
That pie chart is backwards to what you're saying at 2:11
After seeing a few of these videos, I am curious: from a Doctor/HCA standpoint, what would the ultimate healthcare system look like, if you could cobble it together from the multiple systems shown?
France, pretty much.
I think he'd tell you that he doesn't know. All he knows is that the only way to get the best system is to try different things and see what works, rather than stubbornly holding onto something that doesn't, just because you believe in it. That's the Singapore way! If anyone is going to find the perfect system first, it'll be them.
There is no ultimate healthcare system, as each system needs to be tailored to the specific needs of a country's specific population. A country's economic system, it's population, its geographic distribution, and its gender, racial, religious, and other kinds of distributions will all serve to change how each healthcare system will affect a country.
feitocomfruta 👌
Singapore is not homologous. It is the most religious diverse country, it has 4 official languages and has holidays for every major ethic and religious groups.
I got the shock of my life when I saw that Healthcare Triage did a video on my tiny little country! More than interesting to see our healthcare put across by someone on the outside.
Eldershield has been replaced with Careshield which covers everyone. Time to update the video? But good job with this effort from 2014. Still mostly relevant. I could sense the frustration in seeing partisan attempts to misuse Singapore for their own politics. It is refreshing to see an outsider understand that our approach is neither conservative small government nor liberal big government.
I've always said that US two-party politics swing from thesis to anti-thesis, from liberal to conservative, from arguing over big government vs small government, but never getting to synthesis, never realising that the voters don't want big government nor small government. They want COMPETENT government - a government that works! For them! Not their politician's self interests.
But yes. Good video.
Also at 0:33, "I'm not an international Political Expert, but sources I trust do not describe Singapore as a dictatorship..." So nice to hear a foreigner taking the trouble to understand Singapore, instead of making snap judgement like "Disneyland with a death penalty".
did you consider doing an episode about Cuba ? or Japan
Saddem Gargouri should do one on North Korea since there is no such thing as hospitals and healthcare before their great leader and maybe there will again be none after. That's why they so "whole heatedly" hold on to their beloved Kims.
I wouldn't make a sweeping statement that the "market failed". Singapore pays less and 2/3rd's is privately funded. I'm guessing you meant to say "a full laissez faire market". You did make a convincing case for the ruthless, profit-hungry market not having full control (this is coming from a Libertarian, mind you). Very interesting video, good job.
Daniel Macias The market is neither ruthless nor benevolent, it simply maximizes profit and you can't maximize profit by providing healthcare to everyone. It can, however, improve efficiency and keep costs down. Every country now has a mix of the two, Singapore is just more pro-active and nimble about striking the best balance possible, whereas others get bogged down in the politics of it.
+Daniel Macias Singapore is not a full-laissez faire market. it's the middle path!! in between free market and government intervention, they don't believe in both extremes, they believe what actually works practically.
Liberals will always try to blame something on the market. They should probably watch this: *watch?v=IBFoC1gkExI*
@@segasys1339 But to some people, 'maximizing profit' is an evil in and of itself.
Wong Tik Ki people have always maximized profit. People also have a sense of humanity and community. The key is to balance them all together, not to suppress this or that because u think it’s evil.
My god, this is a concise explanation. And I live in this country.
This souds like a pretty good way to do healthcare. The biggest problem I see for the Us is that fact that most of our hospitals are not run by the government so creating different classe so service would be difficult. They are however non-profit and so their goals pretty much align with the patients.
Medisave is our money which are force to contribute and to use when we are old, needs more medical care and instead of allowing us to do it at the poly clinics and day care, we are restricted to such a point that it is impossible to use. So for me it will be for my coffin when I die? For those often sick people, they usually do not have medisave for they are in hospital too often and it is the country to help.
Medishield is brilliant insurance work. low cost, low probability, high cost. No one wants a stroke!
wow.. proud to be a Singaporean.
Whilst the Healthcare system in Singapore works and we have a great Government, there is still room for improvement. So, don't be carried away by a foreigner's rose tinted glasses. Healthcare premiums under Medishield and Eldershield are not cheap compared to our low wages.. Please remember that we do not have minimum wage in Singapore and the income gap between the rich and poor is huge. Our GDP per capita is one of the highest in the world and yet, some employees in healthcare and eldercare facilities are paid about US$300 per month.
Their drug laws are pretty messed up though. Although their Health care system is quite fascinating.
Hey it comes with the package of being one of the safest country in the world.
can you do iceland plz
I'm a Singaporean student and this is quite different from what I'm learning in social studies .
The graph of private vs public spending shows private as 1/3.
As a Singaporean living in UK, I think other policy areas also matter when it comes to healthcare. For example, Singapore has fewer drug and alcohol problems due to severe penalty for drug offences and high prices of alcohol. Unlike in UK where A&E are overwhelmed by drug and alcohol related admission during weekends!
2:08 - "About two thirds of health care spending is private, about one third is public."
Graph: Public spending = 2/3 of pie chart (light green)
Private spending = 1/3 of pie chart (orange)
🤔🤔🤔🤔
Although I am very economically right leaning, and most of my peers would advocate for complete free-market healthcare, I think this system is better. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to know that free-market healthcare is extremely effective and I wish that that were the case. But, as stated in the video, free market healthcare with no government control will not be great and I have seen no evidence of it working as Right Libertarians believe it will. This Singaporean model however, sounds plausible and sounds like the best solution to $1000 trips in the wee woo wagon that take a grand total of 2 minutes. I would even sign off on a Swiss healthcare system, I really like both. I might change a few things, making it slightly more private than public and a little less government control, but that’s it.
Proud to be a Singaporean
Cool video! Although some people don't really appreciate the CPF account, since part of your salary is ""taken"" away, this shows a nice breakdown and simple to digest infomation!
Check out PAL Network!
Decentralisation!!!!! We should all live in our own Singapore!
Absolutely. Let each of the 50 states regain the independence they were meant to have. More variety means more models to be tested and learned from. Instead an overly strong federal system makes rules that fit to the lowest common denominator and enforces it.
Hi, I am a Singapore. I am fascinated whenever I see non-Singaporeans heaping praise on our healthcare system. It is a common sentiment amongst Singaporeans that healthcare is NOT affordable. Rather than launch into a rant, here's a few things to consider:
1. My (private) healthcare in was cheaper in Australia than in Singapore. (I studied in Australia and had to seek investigations and specialist care on my basic student insurance.) Healthcare in Singapore is "so cheap" because a substantial proportion of the costs are shifted to patients, and the system is smart enough to ensure patients pay up.
2. The healthcare experience in Singapore's PUBLIC healthcare system is unsatisfactory. It's not about poor healthcare, but poor healthcare experience, mostly relating to poor communication and/or bedside manner. Form an affordability perspective, wouldn't you be more willing to pay for a service if you were satisfied with it?
3. There are structural inefficiencies that need to be addressed. E.g. A large private primary care system that is not congruous with the public hospital system, against the backdrop of an overburdened public primary care system. And structural inefficiencies cost big money.
A patriotic Singaporean may berate my response as ignorant complaints of ingratitude, but I speak as someone who as a real interest in my country having a robust healthcare system - I am a fresh medical graduate.
then given the points you have listed, a patriotic singaporean who berates you response as ignorant would not be patriotic at all. to be patriotic is to be involved and wanting improvements in your nation for its good, and also for you and your loved ones' best interests.
Thank you for the information.
One thing i agree with is the medical saving account. This incitives people to not abuse the system because their spending their own money from their labor.
It frustration thst people keep insisting governments the answer and its not. Competing for Profit isnt evil, it beneficial for everyone. It keeps cost down and provides better service.
Also, heres some good services from the private sector that you can look into if you're interested.
Cash only clinics: these are very affordable clinics in the US to bypass extremely expensive insurance regulations.
Good RX: medical coupons, ive literally cut 60% off my meds from using this.
GoFundMe. Com: A website that focuses on medical charity. 50% of US healthcare is paid by charity, no cost to patient!
The private sector has been unfairly criticized.
Wdym a patriotic Singaporean? You pointing out its flaws to be fixed is amazing and ptriotic
Best healthcare system in my opinion.
you obviously dont know countries like taiwan, hong kong and japan
This and Germany seem like great systems
Will you do an episode about the Dutch system? Because it's really interesting. It's good in its ideas, but it's so expensive, both to the government and to the people, because of all the bureaucracy and pointless rules.
Singapore sounds kinda awesome. Are there any flaws in its system, beyond having to pay for parts?
1. We have a mandatory savings policy, meaning a percentage of your salary MUST be saved (excluding employer contribution), so it directly lowers your month disposable income. However, the mandatory percentage is flexible, so as to facilitate bad times such as a recession, where the percentage is decreased)
2. Even though the healthcare system is extensive, Singaporeans usually don't bother getting to know the system themselves, leading to many misunderstandings and imperfect information.
3. We can swiftly make amendments to anything simply due to the way the country is run. The ruling party has over 60%(percentage of votes needed to pass new policies) of seats in parliament. Most other countries probably cant do this.
4. Singaporeans are overall alot healthier. all males aged 18 have to undergo 2 years of mandatory military service. After which, on randomly decided years for about 10+- cycles, said males have to return for several weeks of re-service in order to maintain combat readiness. Failure to meet certain physical standards might result in longer service periods. As such citizens as a whole are incentivised to stay healthy. Many other countries do not have such a system. Some might have mandatory service, but not all have re-service.
well, these are just afew i can think up off the top of my head. there are alot more flaws to our system, but i will admit. even with our flaws, just taking a look at other countries' system will make me contented.
I remember going for surgery to remove an impacted tooth cost me just 400 SGD at a private medical centre.
Of course, many of the benefits only apply to citizens or permanent residents
At 2:12 the pie chart, isn't it reversed compared to what you are stating?
There's a mistake at 2:10
At some point, would it be possible for you to describe a healthcare system that you believe would best fit the United States in terms of health outcomes, cost, social positions and any other factors you may deem relevant? Addressing such a question would certainly be difficulty but I think the answer may be of great interest to your viewers.
If you build up a certain amount in your medical savings, can you withdraw it or stop contributing further? I'm wondering if the system incentivises people to use the services minimally.
Let me answer that, at age 65 there is a minimum amount you must maintain in the medical savings, anything more than the minimum you can actually withdraw them. If you pass away before finishing that medical savings, the medical saving account will be closed and the left over money will be distributed to your beneficiaries without paying any form of tax
Do a scandinavian country, like Norway or Denmark.
Generally you should wish for Sweden or Denmark as comparisons, Norway have insane amount of oil and are therefore so much richer that it dosen't hardly make sense to compare Norway to Denmark or Sweden - A Dane
GDP pr capita 2014:
Norway 99,600 $
Denmark 56,400 $
Sweden 55,200 $
Sweden or a non-scand country like Austria.
Do you think when you've covered all the healthcare systems you plan to you could do a video on common health issues among transgender people? Maybe something about the health risks hypothesized to come about due to hormone therapy, or the risks and benefits of surgery.
Thanks very much for making this video. Which country is next?
China? Germany, Switzerland - the land which has healthcares similar to Obamacare?
Singapore's healthcare system is so unique. Are there any other countries in the world that have systems similar to this? I enjoy how they cater to everyone. They offer rooms that are private and cost more, or they offer a plan that will be covered by the government. I enjoy how they make people take money out of their paychecks to go to healthcare savings plans. It makes them somewhat accountable for their own healthcare. It is also amazing that they actually encourage people to have babies- when it is a very expensive process here in America. I wonder why this plan works so well for Singapore. Would this work as well here in America?
The thing is... Singapore does have conditions & factors that are rather unique. It also effects many other issue beyond healthcare. For example... it is likely one of the most expensive places to own a car by design, to discourage car ownership and rely on public transport, because it is too small & densely populated to allow too many vehicles or heavy pollution. A lot of things that works here, will not work in other places without significant alterations. America also have the resources to cover more so a more comprehensive coverage & possibly mobile one might be better, especially for it's geographical size. There are also very significant differences between Singaporean's cultural mentality and Americans. However the most significant problem I think the US face isn't the lack of a socialized system that would work but rather getting American conservatives to agree to it.
+AQ Malaysia!
enkii82 sorry, but i don't agree. a lady from my church who was from malaysia (now a PR in singapore) fell during chinese new year in malaysia. she visited 2 clinics there who could not treat her/treated her inadequately and she had to drive all the way back to singapore to find out she broke her leg and dislocated her ankle.
Thank you for these videos. I barely knew about my own healthcare system, let alone the basic structure of other countries, which helps me form an opinion on my healthcare system and see where changes should/could be made. Thanks!
I have been living in Europe for 40 years.for me Singapore is the best. love Singapore always........
Hey could you all do a country here that has over $150 million people. You know, one that has at least half as many people as the US. The scalability of countries like Singapore and Sweden I question for as big geographically and population as US. Singapore helps because they can centralize services. PS Im a psychologist, they recruit us all the time to go over and work in Singapore. Interesting they outsource
So basically, Singapore thought that free-market competition would make healthcare cheaper, and then proved the exact opposite.
And yet people STILL insist it would totally work.
I guess if you're the country with the highest population density worldwide, that'll help a lot in the way of providing healthcare evenly and efficiently. Take Germany for example: Life expectancy will differ by 3-4 years between sparsely populated parts of Bavaria and the cluttered, more affluent suburbs of e. g. Hamburg or Stuttgart.
Also, I am always wary when it comes to Singaporean politics. What their regime offer them (if really they do) in terms of healthcare is surely outweighted by the dire human rights and press freedom situation as well as the heavy policing.
Its been decades since people "disappeared". So not so bad. Worst thing that happens these days is you publish something clearly untrue/that you can't back up and you get sued/lose your govt job. Once or twice per year, usually only the really stupid/suicidal get hit by it.
And the media is a mouthpiece for the ruling party (political parties cannot advertise so its news only, but the ruling party gets most of the news coverage under the generic term "government").
On the flipside, we still have the internet, which i think only blocks (symbolically) certain types of pornography and a few which incite hatred/adultery.
Policing is insufficient. There was a foreign worker riot and the police commissioner was screaming that he has insufficient manpower. Mainly because we look down on being part of the police as a "low class job".
That’s mostly consistent with what I had in mind. But also: death row convictions for a colourful assortment of felonies and corporal punishment for a even wider range of possible offences, then we have our non-exisitant LGBT rights, and, sure, finally:
Everything goes tits up in the 2013 Little India riot, but God forbid you dare to import a bloody chewing gum or dirty magazine.
Death row convictions is roughly stuff in which people get killed, kidnapping (roughly because you state intent to kill when ransoming), guns and drugs.
Its not particularly colorful. The only controversial ones are guns and drugs. The gun penalty is here for good reason - zero guns in SG. One shooting in many many years, and that one was smuggled in and used to kill some sort of gang leader. For drugs its only drug dealers/traffickers, not consumption. I think its fair enough - you are profiting from screwing over people's lives. Its quite close to slavery if you think about it.
LGBT rights are "officially, its illegal to be gay". But there's also no enforcement and a statement was issued to that effect. Its ironically there because the electorate likes it there. In fact every year there's a pink dot event for LGBT rights and the only opposition comes from religious groups. As for things like marriage, ditto for the rest of Asia.
For chewing gum, well because irresponsible people, we cannot have good things. Although they won't really stop you if you bring it in for your own use. Just don't bring a load in.
Don't know anything about dirty magazines. But why would you need that, there's the internet...
The reason the competition hurt the healthcare industry is because of the ward system. The higher wards that were privately funded got priority. If there were a true free market then the incentives would be in place to serve the masses. Think Honda being the dominant instead of Ferrari, If lower class cars were price controlled and came with more overhead and regulations then Honda would prioritize higher priced cars that didn't.
Why didn't you explain what a B ward is like... I've only been in a C and an A ward in the hospital...
Sir Iodine B class wards also have air conditioning and but you have fewer patients per room, maybe 4 to 6. If C class wards are full they'd shift you to B class wards and B class standard services but you still get that pricing and 80% subsidy of a C class ward.
How is Singapore homogeneous lol
Er check your chart at 2:10
But they don't have to build lots of hospitals, they can build high quality ones for about the same as two regular hospitals
The willingness to change is HUGE like you said. However, there is NO WAY you could get a tiered system like that without an uproar of how the rich get so much better care in their A wards than the poorest do in their C wards
But it's Optional and healthcare is the same no matter what ward u choose u still get the same healthcare no matter what ward u choose plus would u rather have pepol forced to choose the most expensive ward and being forced to pay the full price or it being Optional
2:07 Mistake: two thirds are public, not private from your graph.
making same comment as others but can you clarify whether the script or graph is right at 2:10? I assume script for now :)
Graph backwards at 2:12?
Very informative, keep these videos up.
It's not hard to explain why, Singapore has more government involvement and less corruption. The US is set up so the more the government involves itself in an issue the more likely it is to get corrupted against its original honest intent.
Before teabaggers jump in claiming I'm a fellow libertarian, that's not really a criticism of the US government, it's a criticism of the awful state of our socioeconomic environment
Slightly confused by how the speech and pie chart about the proportion of public and private spending around 2:08 - speech says two thirds is private and one third is public, but the chart shows the opposite. Which is correct?
There are various forms of national health care system that work pretty well in East Asia. The key takeaway is that the system needs to ensure hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and other medical device suppliers offer competitive and high-quality services meanwhile keeping the cost under control. The greater number of private insurance companies result in higher administrative cost and less bargaining power.
WOOOOO NUMBER1, EAT IT SINGAPORE ! j/k, wish the US would understand 6:50
The graph at 2 minutes dont match what he's saying
proud to be singaporean ❤
I was badly injured while on a trip to Singapore, I was a US green card holder and I received coverage ^-^
His pie chart shows the reverse of what he said. It shows 2/3 public 1/3 private.
At 2:12 the script and the visual give contradicting information.
I did not know Singapore's healthcare system was that great. They spend way less than other countries (the U.S.) and achieve outcomes that are incredible. The most unique part is that they use public and private sectors in a good way. The fact that Singapore spent only $2,000 per person on healthcare, compared to $7,000 in the U.S. should tell you a lot. I'm thinking that some of the reason for their success could be due to the private and public spending throughout the healthcare system. Also, workers have to put wages into a private account, which will help them out tremendously. These are the small features that ranked them #6 in the world, so other countries take notes!
The US could never copy SIngapore directly but it could use aspects of such a system at a state level. And monies currently collected in taxation could be used on an individual collection level.
Please do one on the German Healthcare system! I'm moving there shortly, and I'd really like to be informed about it!
Fascinating.
Homogeneous used in this video's context mean one's identity as a SINGAPOREAN. Amongst ourselves, we think " I am Singaporean" instead of "I am Chinese Singaporean" or "I am SINGAPOREAN Chinese".
It is obvious amongst ourselves (Singaporeans) what one's ethnicity is and is regarded irrelevant.
The identity is of a SINGAPOREAN.
Hence the homogenous term used here in this video. SINGAPOREANS, are largely patriotic.
Alongside the national anthem, we have a National Pledge.
One of the lines goes like this:
"We the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion ......"
2:07 did you mess up the graphic or your sentence ? you said 2/3 are private though the graphic shows about 2/3 as public O.o
Joe Julian.
Gateway Healthcare Insurance companies. Inlinkedin member
SanJose And SanJuan
Samsung Galaxy J3 Orbit Samsung_QVR2usf.