It Is Time The Government Is Transparent To Singaporeans On Healthcare Costs
Singaporeans have to pay our CPF into the Medisave for health.
We then have to pay our Medisave into Medishield, also for health.
When we have to take our Medisave to pay for Medishield, doesn’t that means we have less money to use in the Medisave?
Also, if we are already paying into so many schemes – tax, Medisave, Medishield and Medifund (as well as ElderShield etc), why is it still not enough to cover for our healthcare expenses, that we still have to buy private Medishield plans, accident plans etc from private insurers?
Government subsidies for health only covers for about 30% of total health expenditure, Medisave only 5.5%, Medishield only 2.1% and Medifund only 0.7%. Singaporeans have to pay tax and CPF (Medisave and MediShield) but they cover for less than 40% of total health expenditure. We still have to fork out more than 60% out of our own pockets.
Meanwhile, Singaporeans still have to buy private insurance for health but 40% of Singaporeans are unable to do so.
Medishield is supposed to be the universal healthcare scheme in Singapore but only covers for 2% of health expenditure. This is vastly inadequate.
In light of this, the question is if it’s logical for us to pay such high premiums for a “universal” scheme that pays only 2% of total health expenditure?
*****
Yet, Singaporeans have paid $66 billion into Medisave, but last year, we only used 6% of the total amount.
Singaporeans have also paid nearly $4 billion in premiums into Medishield but we were only able to claim $2 billion.
As such, there is a massive surplus of Medisave and MediShield which Singaporeans have paid out, which have not been returned back to Singaporeans.
In light of this, the question to ask if it’s logical to ask Singaporeans to pay an additional 1% CPF contribution for Medisave and if the increase in Medishield premiums is called for.
Also, what is the government’s permanent plan to pay for the Medishield premiums from government coffers? In 2012, the government had a $36 billion in surplus. In 2013, there was an estimated $30 billion.
*****
Thus several questions stand out:
(1) Why are Singaporeans paying so much into the national health insurance schemes but receiving comparatively much lesser in return?
(2) Why are Singaporeans paying into so much health schemes but these schemes still cover for less than 40% of the total health expenditure?
(3) Why do Singaporeans still have to pay for private insurance and for the 40% who are unable to do so, how will they be able to afford healthcare in Singapore?
(4) We have accumulated tens of billions in surplus in the Medisave and MediShield. Many Singaporeans are today unable to afford healthcare and have had to forgo going to a hospital (some have chosen to die) or sell their homes to pay for their medical bills. In view of the inadequate health protection for many Singaporeans and massive surpluses, should the government expand the use of Medisave and MediShield?
(5) Also, is there a permanent role that the government can build into the Medisave and MediShield to permanently contribute to the Medisave and MediShield of Singaporeans? Short-term interim subsidies from the government will still cause long term anxiety for Singaporeans.
*****
Finally, how are the computations and calculations on the Medisave and MediShield contributions/premiums and payouts done? What assumptions have the government used and what are their long term projections?
For now, Singaporeans do not have access to this information. We have only been told that there will be a 1% increase in our CPF contribution for Medisave and we have to pay more Medishield premiums.
But why? And how are the cost decisions done? This information is not public.
There is an urgent need for the government to be transparent in these calculations and be accountable to Singaporeans on why we have to pay for these increases.
Today, there is a lot of difficulty for Singaporeans to have to pay for things on wages that have remained stagnant, especially for the poor and elderly. Singaporeans would appreciate a government which can be transparent to us on this information, so that we are aware as to why we have to pay from our diminishing wages into these rising costs.
*****
In the eventuality,
(1) It is time the government streamline the national healthcare schemes to simplify them so that Singaporeans are able to easily know how much we have to pay for healthcare. The government also has to simplify the schemes to allow Singaporeans to have a peace of mind when we have to go to a hospital or visit the doctor.
(2) The coverage of these schemes have to also be expanded beyond inpatient care to truly universal care. When we seek healthcare, we do not decide whether we would seek inpatient or outpatient care today, especially for urgent cases. This decision is made by doctors. Singaporeans should not have to worry about the long term implications to our health, simply because we cannot pay the bills and choose to forgo seeking medical treatment.
(3) There needs to be a cap (or maximum amount) as to how much Singaporeans should pay for each visit to the doctor (as in Hong Kong) or in a year (as in Norway), so that we are fully aware of how much we have to pay for each visit or over a year, and be able to seek medical treatment, with a peace of mind.
(4) Companies currently have to pay for 30% to 40% of total health expenditure in Singapore. It is difficult for them to continue to have to fork out these amounts, in light of rising business costs and rents. The government has to step in to manage the costs for businesses.
(5) As such, Singaporeans are already paying significant amount of taxes. The tax that Singaporeans pay, in comparison to how much the government gives back in expenditure, is perhaps one of the lowest among the developed countries. As such, the government has a duty to return more of these taxes back in subsidies. Also, as mentioned, there are tens of billions of surpluses in the past few years. The government has to increase the health subsidies to allow Singaporeans to cope with the rising medical costs. The average that governments of other developed countries spend on health is 70%. In Singapore, the government spends only 30%.
Today, Singaporeans have a stake in our country’s development. The government has to be transparent in their computations and calculations, so that as a whole, Singaporeans can work with the government to look at the long-term projections of health expenditure, how much we should pay to sustain long term outcomes and work together towards a mutually beneficial arrangement for the government, as well as for Singaporeans and businesses in Singapore.
*****
An event will be held at Hong Lim Park on 12 July at 4.00 pm to discuss the issue of CPF and healthcare further.
The Heart Truths 
Confessions Of A Billionaire:
==============================
“Which is why the fundamental law of capitalism must be:
If workers have more money, businesses have more customers.
Which makes middle-class consumers, not rich businesspeople like us, the true job creators.
Which means a thriving middle class is the source of American prosperity, not a consequence of it.
The middle class creates us rich people, not the other way around.”
This billionaire is saying what SDP and Chee Soon Juan has been saying all along.
Worth a read.
SOURCE:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014.html#.U64mgLHm7cg
Please do realize that CPF is not a healthcare plan. So far, the govt is allowing its use as a vehicle for medicare of all sorts. This is still inadequate as healthcare cost keep rising. We need a national health plan outside of CPF. Leave CPF strictly for retirement planning. Housing and Healthcare are another two key issues to tackle. And it will cost money for both citizens and govt! Nothing is free. Its how do we fund it!
Vincent is right, CPF was good until our PM wanted to be richer so as to tell the World, we are richer and richer and that is why we are the richest and most expensive country. We made monies through gambling and collected a LOTS of taxes and we are very proud to have the most expensive and largest CASINOS on EARTH?
Health in most countries are Government expenditure but PAP tweeted our CPF to made us paid for it and claims we have the best health system in the World with citizens money. Please correct me if I AM wrong as a layman knows only a little state matters. But if we becomes part of Malaysia or China then we may be better and that is why our courts are now STATE Courts???
Seriously folks, lawyers are petty and childish(read the exchanges between the lawyers). For money, they will say the right thing
Medishield Life Bites Hard
At its core, universal health coverage (UHC) is about giving the individual and his family access to health care and preventing them from facing financial ruin that can come from unexpected illness and disability. At least that was what Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck, widely credited as the intellectual father of today’s UHC programmes, had in mind when he introduced national compulsory coverage for workers. Profit was never the motive.
Last year, Medishield premiums were quietly increased without much fanfare. Han Fook Kwang himself woke up to discover that his MediShield premium had jumped to $1,589, double what was deducted ($800) from his Medisave account previously. Before you could even contemplate bailing out of the scam, they introduced the compulsory Medishield Life to skim you off for perpetuity.
For a while now, the spiel was about additional benefits, never about whether we need them or are prepared to pay for the extras. They can hide the numbers only for so long. Now the secret is out.
As expected, leopards never change their spots. Medisave, one component of the Central Provident Fund (CPF), is also supposed to be our money, but that never stopped the grubby greedy hands from helping themselves to the loot. Discounting the placebo of the subsidies, valid only for a temporal grace period, the numbers are higher than present (already inflated) Medishield premiums. The only important table is the set of before and after numbers.
Other than per capita household income, the determining factor for entitlement to a “discount” is the Annual Value (AV) of one’s home. The retiree living in his old house with no source of income will still have to pay full rate. Ditto the sickly and handicapped, those in dire need of affordable medicare, will just have to downgrade to the void deck to qualify for a miserly handout.
The key to the grand scheme of things is the MediShield Life Review Committee (MLRC)’s suggestion to work with private insurers to review the “landscape and features” of Integrated Shield Plans (IPs). You bet these private insurers, working in cahoots with the compliant Government appointees, will be laughing all the way to the bank. And you thought it was all about providing affordable health care. Bobby Chin, the Chairman of the MediShield Life Review Committee has even suggested that those who default on their premiums for MediShield Life should be penalised: “If you don’t pay, the government will look into certain enforcement.”
Speaking from the safety of several thousand miles away, the prime minister said, “You will have to pay somewhat more premiums but the premiums are affordable.” Probably as affordable as those 35 year mortgages for a leasehold public housing unit.
Lucky I have a plan B to migrate to Canada and opt out of the stupid medisave scheme. Even if I go back China, I do not need to pay a cent. Singaporeans are like the frogs in a slow boiling pot, even when they are being slow cooked they will also gratefully thank the government. I love PAP!
Why only NOW is the correct TIME? Why not last year? Why not next year? Is it because it is a good time to build a “wonder” CPF that is a vehicle to bring all kind of benetifs to Singaporean? If this is so than CPF is not that bad after all! All the best CPF Roy
Transparent? why have u kept so quiet on the 71 year old man??
Not I AM a 71 man who made allot of noise but blow not airs as I never cheat, never hurts people and do not lie. I now realize that it is lier that people believes and non lier are make believes only?
just another way to trap people’s money for more investment for those pte ltd company , which they stand to offer themselves ludicrous bonus and salaries .
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
1. The Good
a. MediShield Life is now covered for life.
b. People with pre-existing conditions are covered.
2. The Bad
a. Premiums are increased substantially (more than double for some age group).
b. Need to pay premium for a lifetime (even after you retire).
c. Possible duplication of insurance cost for pensioners, employees covered under company’s health benefits, those with private health insurance plans and Singaporeans working overseas (since cannot opt out).
3. The Ugly
a. Healthy Singaporeans taking over the role of the government to subsidize the unhealthy Singaporeans (What’s taxes for?)
b. The mean testing terms application to qualify for a subsidy of the premium is too stringent. It should be based on the salary of the individual rather than the average per household and the type of housing should not be taken into account.
c. Healthcare cost will runaway since premiums for MediShield Life can and will be adjusted upwards in the future. Is there any incentive for the healthcare industry to control cost if they can just pass this on to consumers. If government takes on a large share of the cost (eg 80%), then it will be much harder for medical cost to increase substantially.
Wrong Ace, pre-conditions are not covered and NTUC just told me so.
@Iandragon123
MediShield Life only take effect in 2015 and is run by CPF.
At the moment, NTUC which is one of the insurer for the integrated plans does not cover pre-existing conditions because MediShield Life is not in place yet.
If you still don’t get it, please talk to a financial consultant. Cheers!
@Roy
U sound more stupid with every post… Tsk tsk…. Such a disgrace to have u associate with Singapore.
@ LKY
U sound more stupid with every book… Tsk tsk…. Such a disgrace to have u associate with Singapore.
Chris is mine. Stop pestering him. His chopstick is broken and still at the hospital.
It is such an embarrasment because I told everyone about it that he has been ignoring me 🙂
Anybody forced you to read Roy’s article?
Chris prefers to read the 154th ranking newspaper for better group think and dose of PAP propaganda.
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
― Samuel Adams
So we should read the gospel of Roy for he has the correct citations and genuine evidences to back up his claims?
You should read whatever you want. I am sure that you are “smart” enough to differentiate facts from opinions. Facts are indisputable but opinions are neither right nor wrong, just different. If you do not agree with any opinion, you are always free to present your own set of reasons.
Character assassination does nothing for education or the search for the truth.
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Yeah. opinions are neither right nor wrong. How about statements that tries to present itself as facts. i.e. Government subsidies for health only covers for about 30% of total health expenditure, Medisave only 5.5%, Medishield only 2.1% and Medifund only 0.7%. Singaporeans have to pay tax and CPF (Medisave and MediShield) but they cover for less than 40% of total health expenditure. We still have to fork out more than 60% out of our own pockets.
Pray tell me how is this an opinion. All I see are unsubstantiated figures that a certain individual tries to portray as facts.
FYI, quoting quotes does not make your answer more impressive. I also can do it.
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance”
George Bernard Shaw
@auntie ng,
This is not a rebuttal. What are your counter facts/numbers? You are a lot of hot air and no substance. If you are so good, go write your own blog.
I am merely asking for roy ngerng sources for all those numbers he quoted. I do not need to provide anything. The onus is on roy ngerng since he is the one who wrote the post and claims it is true.
If I am full of hot air, so are you my good sir. Judging from comments on previous posts, you seem to run away from arguments you cannot win.
Why don’t you do your homework first? “Show us the money” or shut up.
If you have so much free time, go challenge PAP’s claim on Temasek’s Warren Buffett beating return?
And stop being a leach here.
Lol. Why are you changing the topic? I am merely asking for roy ngerng sources.
And btw it is leech and not leach. If you want to scold people, do it correctly.
hi Auntie Ng, I got a letter referrer from Clinic to A&E, guess what? No subsidy…….. All those Medisave blah blah etc also cannot be used on my CT scan also.
I can see how that is totally linked to my question about roy ngerng sources.
Another post which makes no sense. Again another post with contradictory ideas to earlier posts. You want cheap, you want good, and you have no idea how to get the money to pay for all these you want increased wages, yet don’t want business costs to rise and wants the government to help, but yet have decreased taxes for people.
U quoted more than 20% live in poverty. You know jackshit about poverty because you have not really seen real poverty. You have not seen the people in Thailand or India or even in the United States, who live in true poverty.
You know shit about how finances or economics work. Everything is a zero sum game.
Stop letting your ego get in the way and think you are representing most Singaporeans. You are not. You have no ideas on how to make it better, and you are being egoistic and refusing to admit you are wrong, even though deep down u know you have no resources or the knowledge to make it happen.
So what do you do?
You stir shit and give baseless numbers just to give yourself credibility to make yourself feel good.
Quit, and grow up. You have not seen the world. Don’t let this ego trip of yours mess up your life and go down a path which you are not equipped to handle.
@ LKY
Bringing the 1950’s thinking into the 21st century.
– a real oldie but goodie
– an old dog teaching young Singaporeans old tricks
– nothing but the best in recycled ideology for Singaporeans
@ makes no sense
u mean Roy is worse than ppl who say workers have to work cheaper faster better, but minimum sum peg to inflation, cpf interest rate not pegged to inflation?
又要马儿跑， 又要马儿不吃草
if thats the case, thank you for putting your double standards on parade.
joke is,
even at a red light district you can only get cheaper & faster(in this case faster is worse), but not cheaper faster better.
if you tell a pimp you want cheaper faster better, he’ll ask you to buy a watermelon from the fruit seller across the street and DIY in the back alley.
Just because the MIW cannot come out with a solution, means there is no solution. Hahaha.
It actually means that the MIW are not so brilliant and that we are overpaying them.
For that kind of salary, I would expect my employee to come up with solution to every problem that I throw at them otherwise it is time to get someone else and tell them Good bye, Sayonara, to boayo, adios.
No la. it means we should hold more rallies at hong lim park with catchy slogans while blogging furiously away.
@auntie ng,
Don’t use the word “we”. You want to hold election rallies while complaining furiously online go ahead.
Don’t involve us. I am not interested in your “rally” even if you provide free chicken wing or nasi lemak.
Whoever said about election rallies. Now is 2014 not 2016 unless you created a time machine
@ Ace
the problem is never the system’s fault, but the solution try to extract from the ppl.
MRT too crowded? expected to wake up earlier and go to work early to wait for work to start, go back later to avoid the peak hour crowd. then SOMEONE say, not having enough children, LOL, cannot even have time to take care of children still want to have more children?
it’s the story of the salesman with the sharpest spear and the strongest shield, the spear can penetrate anything, the shield can block anything.
MRT no seat? solution is to wake early and take the train BACKWARDS a few stations then board. then SOMEONE say, low productivity, struggling to increase productivity, expect ppl to do this kind of thing, face still thick enough to talk abt productivity? take trains backwards helps improves productivity or otherwise?
LOL.
I wonder if PAP has any new ideas beyond LKY?
– Or are they going to keep recycling his old books for another 50 years.
With their million dollar salaries
– they are shamelessly milking LKY’s ideas for all it’s worth
Is there an expiry date on LKY’s ideas?
– even good medicine …. once it goes past its expiry date ….. become bad medicine
I wonder if Roy Ngerng has any new ideas beside blogging and holding numerous rallies
-in fact, i wonder what happens to the tshirts he prints for each rallies. Is he going to wear them for his court appearance
With his wonderfully fat bank account
– he sure is making everyone donate money to him even if he refuses to help the 71 year old man who was allegedly inspired by Roy
Is there an expiry date on Roy Ngerng antics?
-even sensationalism antics gets boring and repetitive after awhile
Roy Ngerng got million dollar salary or not?
But it’s a nice compliment.
To parody Roy with LKY
Well if people keeps donating to him, he dont even need to have any salary.
I luv his books.
Can I push him around in his wheelchair?
I just donated another $50. Since some pappies so jealous and keep complaining. I shall donate more to make them unhappier.
Go ahead and donate. It is a free world. In fact, I find it amusing that you people refuse to donate to the 71 year old man caught for vandalising. Is it cos he do not blogs or hold any rallies?
@auntie ng,
If you have not donated to either Roy or the 71 year old man, why are you making a fuss here? Go gossip elsewhere with your kind.
I am merely pointing out the truth and nothing but the truth. Why are you so sensitive over the truth that the 71 year old man did not receive any form of support ?
Good question – Why are you so sensitive over the truth that the 71 year old man did not receive any form of support ?
Go look into the mirror.
If you care about the 71 year old man, go donate to him. Don’t keep making noise here like a hypocrite.
I donated already. Have you?
There is nothing I can do or should do. This problem is created by PAP. If PAP did not ask the police to catch the old man, there won’t be such a problem. So many landlords paste here scribble there but nobody catch. When you criticise the PAP, whole police mobilised. It is a PAP problem, not my or Roy’s problem. If they cane the old man, more people will vote against PAP. Just wait and see.
There is something you can do, donate to the old man as well?
It reflects on Roy, he claims to want to help ordinary Singaporeans, but when an old man got arrested for vandalism which started support for Roy, he is silent.
When the old man is facing more serious charges then Roy. But yet he is forgotten and ignored because he has no blog to proclaim how he is being a martyr and is standing up against PAP.
Ps. Not a PAP supporter, unlike what some people think, there is more to the opposition than Roy Ngerng. He is not deserving and does not represent the entire opposition faction against PAP.
Sorry meant to say stated not started.
Auntie so free ah. Get urself a man la. U sound like major spider web case le
Auntie donate to 71yr old ah pek Liao? If not, wat toking u?
Is He on adult diapers yet?
Does He have anybody to help him change his diapers?
I donated already. Have you?
So how did you donate to the old man? By your mouth I supposed. LOL
$50. Just like you 🙂
Okay, show us the proof that you have donated $50 to the 71 year old man. What is his POSB account?
Are you now the annoying PAP IB point (wo)man?
Using your logic, do your own homework and find the old man posb account.
I donated to Roy’s POSB Savings Bank Account 130-23068-7 and kept the receipt. I can show you if you want.
Tell me the old man’s POSB account and how you manage to find it. If you so keen to help him, why are you not sharing his account number? Or you are just bluffing your way through to make Roy look bad.
Good for you that you donate. Like I said earlier, it is a free world and you can do what you like with your money including throwing your money into the toilet bowl.
Using Xmen logic which he/she so kindly demonstrated in a post earlier, do your own homework and find the old man posb account yourself. Stop being a leech.
@jasmine, well said!
“If you so keen to help him, why are you not sharing his account number?”
It is now very clear that this auntie ng is faking an orgasm here on roy’s blog.
Amazing how you people always manage to squeeze in some sexual innuendo into your answers.
It’s clear by now why PAP IBs are losing their arguments everywhere. No transparency (e.g. don’t give out posb account number or provide proof of receipt) and open big mouth and make bogus claims (e.g. Warren Buffett beating return). If someone says you lie, you will sue to protect your “reputation” because that someone can’t prove that you have no receipt (or Warren Buffett beating return).
Go get a life!
So says the guy who do not answer when he is losing an argument. Xmen, if you want to make that claim about PAP IB losing their arguments, make sure you are winning yours. Ignoring arguments does not count as winning. Otherwise, it is the same as george bush claiming mission accomplished in Iraq when it was far far from over.
Btw also make sure they support PAP in the first place. (I support worker’s party and SDA)
(I support worker’s party and SDA)
I can see how that is totally linked to your $50 “donation”. I can also see that you are a “supporter” of worker’s party and SDA.
You have ZERO integrity and honesty. What a waste of an education. I am totally done with you – another IB leech.
Hi idiots,
Go bk to read other post comments.
The ppl losing their argument r Roy and friends.
If u idiots dun want to read everything, like websites of cpf, mas, HDB, etc. Need we repeat everything over and over, if we dun feel like it?
The poor old man was stupid to write those words. Dun know how to speak English still want to write in English. Wonder which idiot taught him?
I confirm auntie chris ng is an idiot only good at parroting.
Well why I am telling you my political allegiance is cos you claim that all the PAP IBs are losing their arguments everywhere as a reply on my post; implying that I am one. How about you win yours first before making such a claim; starting with the one above. You simply ignoring my question about Roy Ngerng sources for his statistics is not winning.
Next, you are assuming that I support PAP which I don’t. Just because I don’t agree with Roy Ngerng means I support PAP? That is laughable logic. How about I support neither?
You know what is a true waste of education? People who blindly accept what others tell them without verifiying the truth cos it is what they want to hear. People who thinks that the world falls into two camps; the Roy Ngerng supporters and PAP supporters. The world is more complicated than that cos there are people who support neither. It is rarely a case of if you are not with me, you are against me.
PS: I see that you have learnt how to spell leech correctly. Good job! 🙂
PSS: maybe you can use other words such as parasite to make your insults less bland. Use a thesaurus if necessary.
Would a traitor proclaim that s/he is a traitor? And would you believe if s/he says s/he is not? LOL
Nonsense. You guys have a fool-proof method of determining who is a PAP IB and who is not since you guys declare so and so is a PAP IB with 100% conviction. So I am sure you guys are able to determine my political allegiance with ease.
@jasmine, bravo! 100% spot on there. This auntie is a faky.
Wonderful how michael is unable to sense sarcasm. 🙂
PS: amusing how michael appears at the same time jasmine disappears.
Juz curious where his facts and figures comes from. To me, medishield or for that matter, any health insurance, is worse on average for individuals. If 90% of cost of insurance is guaranteed back after costs (agent fee, admin fee etc) one on average for a lifetime gets back less from insurance than u put in. On top of that, if amount covered is ‘as charged’ it feeds the inflation cycle of healthcare. Collectively it does reduce social problem for less healthy individuals with less savings to be given some form of medical care. But the inflation will rear its ugly head and increase proportion of population needing help if the current wage stasis for lowee and lower middle income remains
I think Yew also donated.
I’m just looking at his diapers now.
I wonder what comes next?
Tube feeding or yet another book?
We all grow old and die someday. One day, it will be your turn to get laughed at for wearing diapers and having tube feed
I grow old.
But will I be paid a salary for growing old?
Much more people supported the pinkdot event compared to your #returnmycpf. Maybe you should return to speaking for gay rights, at least u get more supporters.
Sorry lady and gentleman, we are here to help Roy and to get LNL to step down and return our money, for most ask for CPF, but for me I just ask for Medisave as it does not serve it purpose at all. Now why talk about Medishield when is in the planning state. I believe it will be like CPF Life which is a cheap insurance which forced you for something that many do not want, or write about insurance which is out to CHEAP.
insurance is good. insurance is big business, cashflow is good and quite profitable too.
Great Eastern profit margin for 2013 is S$675million.
Of Course it have to be good, if not LNL will not introduce CPF LIFE and suck in all our monies and KEEP it for LIFE. The Insurances Companies was the underwriters for our Anunities but the PAP chose to eat the cake themselves and now your CPF Retirement Funds are FORCED into LNL pockets for him to do as he like? Please correct if I AM wrong as I AM not a insurance man anymore after I left the insurance in 2002.
@landragon123
got a party market itself like a luxury sports car. maintenance is costly, it’ selling price and insurance is expensive and it gobbles fuel like a luxury sports car, except that it makes a lot of noise but does not go very fast and is a not very reliable.
do you know which party this is?
this party expects the ppl to go fast like a sports cars but is cheap to maintain, cheap to insure and sips fuel like a Casio watch.
do you know which party this is?
When Yew grow old.
Yew should take a pay cut for doing the same job.
Be grateful your boss don’t sack Yew.
If not happy, Yew should clean toilets or sell tissue paper at MRT stations.
Just like other old people in Singapore
Yew think Yew are good enuff for an MP’s pay meh?
Full time blogger are you. Bo liao. Lets see whether we still have so called at least 6k people turn up this time. I can bet there are now less people interested in what you say. broken record of you false report. Good Luck!
Yes. Agreed.
PAP Election rallies don’t attract more than 6k people.
And most of the 6k are PAP members and RC aunties (hungry for free chicken rice).
I knoe one RC auntie ng. Hahahahaa…
If you want to make an insult, at least get your spelling correct. If not, the joke is on you just like a certain xmen who spelt leech wrongly 🙂
@auntie ng, it is obviously a typo error and not a spelling error. Check your keyboard before making a fool of yourself again 🙂
Then all the more it looks stupid on you cos you never check your spelling before you hit the enter key 🙂
I am not taking a language exam on Roy’s blog. This is just a comment by a commoner — I’m not a PM nor his lawyer. Why should I be bothered with a few typos? You are the one who need to have your brain checked if you insist on no error, typo or otherwise. 🙂
Well if you want to insult someone, at least do it with no typos. It is hard to feel insulted with misspelled words and all it takes is 5 seconds to glance through your post before hitting the enter key.
PS: You can even use dictionary.com if you are unsure of the spelling. It is not that hard to check my own spelling before, considering I am someone who needs to have my brain checked. Unless…
The pot calling the kettle black. It is “because” not “cos”. A stupid RC auntie trying to correct others without looking at herself. Idiot.
What “great” power of observations you have. Able to deduce that I belong to an RC.
Sorry to disappoint, I am not. Maybe you should find the bomoh in Malaysia on how to improve your magical powers.
auntie ng.
Are you cock starved like other PAP RC aunties that I’ve known (in the biblical sense) in the past?
can you give me your e-mail for a discrete encounter?
Amazing how you all always managed to squeeze in sexual innuendo into your answers.
Most likely this auntie hasn’t been laid for decades. Collecting dust. Ha Ha…
Tell Laura I love her.
Was wondering when the insults by the sex starved males start rolling in.
The main thrust of Roy’s latest post – that the government should spend more and be more transparent about it – is simply wrong. THERE IS NO FREE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. OK, now that I’ve made that point loud and clear, what exactly do I mean?
Any healthcare system, even the “free” systems in the UK and elsewhere, are paid for via taxes, insurance or directly. The fact the Singapore government pays out proportionately less from our taxes for healthcare than many other governments means almost nothing. Roy deduces that the government should spend more from this fact – but a person can just as easily imply from this same fact that the government is doing an excellent job as it is spending less than other wasteful governments. Either deduction may be right – or they could both be wrong.
Roy then quotes some numbers about Medisave, etc. to back up his claim but he actually ends up showing his ignorance of how these schemes are supposed to work.
What is perhaps more important is to look at our total health spend and ask if we are getting value for money? Other reasonable questions are whether waiting lists are too long for specialists or hospital beds, are the poor members of society reasonably helped, is the system too complicated perhaps, what do we need to do to care for the growing elderly population? Etc.
As for the second part of Roy’s argument that the government needs to be more transparent, he is surely joking as he picked up most the numbers to back up his faulty arguments from government websites, If he had spend a bit more time reading the explanations of how Medisave, etc. actually work, he might then have avoided some of the mistakes he made in his post.
Or perhaps Roy is counting on the fact most of his audience either won’t read or won’t believe what they read. I happen to believe our healthcare system is better than many Roy holds up as great examples of what we should do. Roy’s opinion is based on his idealistic (and unrealistic) beliefs. My opinion is based on spending half my adult life living in some of those other countries.
I am not saying Singapore’s system is perfect (just better than Roy believes) but I certainly don’t believe the government is cheating, tricking or somehow scamming Singaporeans. This is the continued paranoid thrust of Roy’s arguments that has got him into trouble – he can’t see past his hatred of the PAP to the actual facts and as a result he loses his credibility.
@ The Oracle,
simple summary to your long winded comment is that you have constructed a straw-man argument.
you throw out the idea of “free healthcare” and pretend as if Roy or someone here is championing for it, then you proceed to dismantle the idea you yourself brought up.
very few ppl, including not very well educated ppl, actually believe in free healthcare, it’s just a difference of opinion on how it should be done.
@The Oracle
as for ignorance, many here are able to, and did spend considerable amounts of time reading the official literature on CPF and it’s relevant schemes, the difference is you probably that what you read as truth and the others simply think there is a better way to do it and there is room for improvement.
*typo correction
as for ignorance, many here are able to, and did spend considerable amounts of time reading the official literature on CPF and it’s relevant schemes, the difference is, you probably take what you read as truth, and the others simply think that there is a better way to do it and there is room for improvement.
I agree with Deaf Frog. Nothing is free in this world of course. It is how government allocates its resources. Creating strawmen, bogeymen and ad hominems doesn’t help as well. The PAP government allocates a hefty 22% of yearly the budget on defence to white elephants like the F35s when it could spend those money to improve on our healthcare. It is obvious that there are many rooms for improvement. Also money that could be spent more meaningfully on healthcare is being wasted on PIC grants where unscrupulous businessmen and cronies reaped tens of thousands from the multiple loopholes without actual improvement to productivity, courtesy of pro-business PAP again.
I’m glad you see there are trade-offs and I may actually agree with you on one of the points you just made.
I’m not saying that the current health system is perfect but I am saying Roy’s proposed solution has huge holes and has bigger problems than he realises. See my next post about now versus the future – Roy wants us to spend more government money now but has no appreciation of our future demographics or the future cost of doing what he suggests.
Roy seems to believe in a Socialist ideal model of universal healthcare which would be primarily funded by the government from current revenues – it is there in black and white in his posts. He says the government can afford it but government/public dollars are essentially the same as private dollars – it is all taxpayer money so he is actually saying we can afford to spend it now.
He also totally fails to understand the savings element of Singapore’s system (other than to disparage the government for having greater revenues than expenditure). These savings will ultimately enable us to pay for healthcare 20 and more years from now while the Western systems buckle and fail under the weight of ever-aging populations and shrinking workforces. This demographic time-bomb is real for most of the developed world but Roy conveniently ignores this fact.
Roy’s argument that the government should spend more is myopic and misses the point.
@ The Oracle
any party have a choice to explain why a particular tradeoff is superior to it’s alternatives, if this party does not want to explain or is unable to sell the idea without explaining, then it cannot blame ppl for disagreeing with them and coming to their own conclusionsr.
I actually agree with you that the government needs to do a better job of explaining here. The reason I’ve given above is valid but many people don’t know/understand.
@ The Oracle
“valid” is not something that can be declared, the audience will decide whether something is valid or not.
and if i am an opposition supporter, i would like the government to think it is just a communication problem.
Oracle
While you were busy blogging here. I had a very good time with your wife at home this afternoon.
Suffice to say, she is now a die hard Opposition voter.
I’m afraid I’ve loosened her up for you old boy.
What an intelligent and analytical reply.
Oracle’s wife is prettier than Whore Chink.
But then again, that’s not a very high standard is it?
Bravo another intelligent and analytical comment.
I forgot to add.
Oracle must have been a pencil dick.
His wife could only handle one finger when I started.
She wanted three fingers by the time I finished.
Haha! Thank you for proving me correct. I see on these forums that when Roy’s supporters don’t have an intelligent counter argument they invariably resort to sexually themed insults. The level of the insult shows just how frustrated you are by my argument!
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