How did Singapore improve standards of health at minimal cost?
Healthcare in Singapore is based on a foundation of individual responsibility and affordable healthcare for all. Government subsidies, individual private savings, and a group of insurance schemes known as the “3Ms” (Medisave, MediShield, and MediFund), help finance citizens’ health care coverage. The mandatory national medical savings scheme, or Medisave, requires workers to contribute a percentage of their income to a personal account, with the same amount contributed by employers. This helps to keep government healthcare spending relatively low.Apart from ensuring affordable and accessible healthcare, health policies in Singapore are based on preventive healthcare. Primary prevention policies such as the National Childhood Immunization Program (NCIP), which oversees vaccinations for tuberculosis for children at birth, as well as the mandatory vaccinations against measles and diphtheria, have helped reduce childhood mortality. Secondary prevention measures include the Screen for Life program, which offers subsidized cancer screenings for adults in Singapore.
