NUHS refutes Paul Tambyah's claim that Government loses 'millions of dollars' from class A wards

SINGAPORE: The National University Health System (NUHS) on Thursday (Dec 29) refuted a claim by Professor Paul Tambyah that the Government loses "millions of dollars" from operating class A hospital wards.

Prof Tambyah is a senior consultant in NUH's division of infectious diseases and chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party. He made the claim in a TikTok video posted on Dec 19 that has been viewed more than 72,000 times.

In the video, Prof Tambyah argued that class A wards in public hospitals should be removed because they provided "huge subsidies" to wealthy foreigners hospitalised in Singapore.

Singaporeans and permanent residents receive subsidies of up to 80 per cent at class B2/C wards in public hospitals. Class A wards are unsubsidised.

There are no subsidies for foreign patients regardless of ward class.

Prof Tambyah said: "Wealthy foreign patients in A class wards pay a rate which is much lower than what they would pay in the private hospitals in Singapore.

"Thus, if you use the (Housing and Development Board's) way of calculating a market subsidy, they are receiving huge subsidies and the Government is actually losing millions of dollars by having A class patients."

He argued that "getting rid of the A class patients" would help the Government "to stop losing those millions of dollars that they're losing, and to end the market subsidies that they're providing for wealthy foreigners who could otherwise go to the private sector".

"The Government should basically not compete with the private sector," he said.

He also refuted the idea, aired by another TikTok user, that the Government earns revenue through class A wards to subsidise other wards and retain good doctors in public hospitals.

"The reason why senior doctors stay in the public sector is not because of money. It's primarily because they love research, teaching and looking after poor Singaporeans," he said.

He added that "depending on making profits out of A class patients to cross-subsidise is just not going to work".

NUHS refuted Prof Tambyah's claims in a Facebook post on Thursday night, saying that his personal views did not represent the views of NUHS and its institutions.

"The different ward classes within the public hospitals are designed to provide Singaporeans a wider range of options. Foreign patients make up a very small number of patients we see," said the post.

"Contrary to what was shared in the video, we do not make a loss by operating Class A wards," it added.

"As part of the public healthcare system, our priority is to care for Singaporeans and ensure that they have access to good and affordable healthcare."

Between 2013 and 2017, foreign patients who travelled to Singapore to seek medical treatment of their own accord made up about 1.5 per cent of total inpatient and day surgery attendances at public health institutions, according to a Ministry of Health parliamentary reply on Nov 18, 2018.