Cash Is Still King

The tightwads hanging on to our Central Provident Funds (CPF) with a death grip would like you to believe that every senior citizen will blow their life savings in a jiffy on a second wife in Batam. They have yet to come up with a logical justification for denying our unfettered access for healthcare needs. That doesn't stop them from throttling the Medisave component. Current choke holds in place:

$200 a year limit for outpatient treatment;
$400 a year limit for chronic diseases, certain screenings and vaccinations;
$600 a year limit for outpatient scans for cancer ($300 for non-cancer related scans)

Whoever heard of anyone "splurging" on medical treatment? Surely nobody in their right mind wants to be sick. The mainstream media took pains to highlight that our caring government has dropped the requirement that patients with chronic diseases have to pay the first $30 of each bill before being able to access their Medisave account balance i.e. no cash in pocket, no payment via Medisave, you die your problem.

What they fail to tell you is that, effective July 2014, patient will have to co-pay 15% of the bill in cash upfront (IMH- Business Office - FCF-CDMP wef 01/07/2041). So much for the kind intention to "reduce patients' cash outlay". You can't miss the fineprint for this doozy, you won't be allowed to pay by Medisave if you don't have the 15% cash in hand. The official jargon, drummed into the nursing staff trying their darndest best to explain the ruling, is:
"We encourage everyone to spend every Medisave dollar wisely, so it remains sufficient for your healthcare needs over a lifetime."

Ignoring the fact that if Ah Kong leaves the clinic without the medication for next month due to a shortfall in hard cash, his lifetime will be unkindly abbreviated.