Singapore's Rising Health Care Bill Reached $1.76B In 1993

Singapore's health care costs are rising, and the island Republic's total health bill in 1993 stood at S$2.6 billion ($1.76 billion), the Singapore Health Ministry's director of finance, Chan Lai Fung has said.

Ms Chan gave no figures, but said that Singapore's health care costs and demand for health services were steadily rising, while the economy was maturing and therefore growing more slowly.

Hence, she said, the government's health care philosophy rested on the objective outline in a White Paper published last October. This including a pledge to "nurture a healthy nation" by promoting good health and providing basic medical services to all. Explaining the White Paper on Affordable Health Care at a meeting of nurses, Ms Chan said Singapore's national health expenditure represented 2.9% of the country's Gross Domestic Product. She said this was low relative to the USA, for example, but was a result of a relatively young population and a strong economic growth.