4.30 Through Workfare and the various CPF changes that I have just mentioned, the CPF balances of all Singaporeans will rise to help them meet their long-term expenses, including their medical needs. However, many Singaporeans are understandably concerned about whether they will be able to afford their healthcare bills as they grow older.
4.31 Healthcare costs for the individual are rising because we are now living longer and becoming more prone to age-related diseases like stroke, diabetes and hypertension which are typically chronic and require long-term care. The elderly use more healthcare services and incur higher costs per episode of care. For example, hip fractures because of osteoporosis are common among the elderly and hip replacement surgeries are usually required to ease their condition.
4.32 The incidence of heart disease and cancer among Singaporeans is also growing, leading to very costly hospitalisation and treatment cycles. And the expectations of Singaporeans are rising; they are demanding more medical services, better medical technologies and more effective drugs.
4.33 To cater to these healthcare needs, the Government will be ramping up our healthcare expenditure over the next five to 15 years. Over the next five years alone, we expect to increase spending to reach about $3 billion a year by 2012, compared to $2 billion today. Part of this will go towards growing the number of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals in our public hospitals. In particular, we aim to bring 4,500 more nurses into the public sector over the next five years, as they play an increasingly important role in supporting the elderly. We will also increase the number of acute hospital beds and improve clinical services.
4.34 We will create academic medical centres in our NUH and SGH campuses, which will allow us to better marry the strengths of academic and clinical practice. Both centres will have a stronger clinical research component, with funding focused on the major diseases afflicting Singaporeans. In addition, step-down care now provided by charities will be better integrated with hospital care. We also want to better integrate patient care between GPs and specialists so that GPs can play a larger role in looking after Singaporeans’ health.
4.35 Singaporeans will still have to foot their share of their medical bills, either in Medisave, insurance or cash. Some people, especially the elderly and low-income, have difficulty setting aside enough in their Medisave for their healthcare needs. They need our help. I will top up the Medifund by $200 million this year so that it reaches a sum of $1.4 billion.
4.36 Mr Speaker Sir, I have outlined some of the major programmes that the Government will have to embark on over the next five years and beyond, to build our capabilities for the future and to strengthen our social security system. With the Speaker’s permission, I will continue later with the changes I will make to our tax regime and how we can fund these expenditure programmes.
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