Unvaccinated patients will have to pay for their own medical care starting next month. This is the latest move of Singapore which, overwhelmed by the fourth wave of Covid, tries to incentivize the population to undergo the vaccine putting order in national health costs.
Singapore, medical expenses to be paid by no vax
A starting from 8 December in Singapore, those who do not get vaccinated by choice and fall ill with Covid-19 will have to pay their medical expenses. A move that NGO Health Minister Ye Kung described as an “important signal” to encourage everyone to get immunized, in a press conference held by the multi-ministerial task force dealing with Covid-19 of which he is co-chair.
Singapore to bill unvaccinated COVID-19 patients as cases surge across island https://t.co/XvBhbxTHca
— ABC News (@abcnews) November 9, 2021
In Singapore, the unvaccinated at this time constitute the majority of patients requiring intensive hospital care and contribute disproportionately to the pressure on health resources of the state. The government currently pays full medical bills for Covid-19 for all Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders, except for those who tested positive immediately after returning from an overseas trip.
The new measure applies only to those who choose not to be vaccinated despite being medically fit and who will be admitted to Covid-19 hospitals and treatment facilities starting December 8. Those who are only partially vaccinated will not be charged for Covid-19 costs until 31 December, in order to allow them to complete the vaccination process. Non-vaccinated people will still be able to take advantage of the normal ways of financing health care, where applicable.
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More than 85% of the population vaccinated
The Covid conrage continues to worry Singapore which in the last 24 hours has reported 14 deaths and 2,470 new cases. Like the Ministry of Health said in a statement, up to now health costs have been paid by the state “to avoid financial considerations in addition to the uncertainty and concern of the public when Covid-19 was an emerging and unknown disease”. “For most of the vaccinated – we read – this special approach for Covid-19 accounts will continue until the Covid-19 situation is no longer stable”.
Singapore is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world with over 85% of the population who received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine. Among its elderly population, 94 percent of people between the ages of 60 and 69 and 90 percent of those aged 70 and over are fully vaccinated.
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