Ninetieth Percentile Inpatient Charges at Different Classes of Wards at Public and Community Hospitals

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Health what are the 90th percentile inpatient charges per day in 2011 for (i) normal wards in public hospitals; (ii) ICU wards in public hospitals; and (iii) community hospitals.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: In the public hospitals, the total bill sizes per inpatient day by the various ward classes are shown in Table 1. These bill sizes include ward charges, medical treatment, surgeries and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) charges, where applicable. The bill size data cannot be broken down into separate components for ICU and normal wards, as the data is collected on a total-episode basis. The 90th percentile bill reflects the higher cost of treatment for patients with much more complex conditions.

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In the community hospitals, the charges at various means-tested subsidy levels are shown in Table 2.

Patients can tap on Medisave and MediShield to help pay for their bills in the public hospitals and community hospitals. For low income patients who cannot afford the bills, they can also seek financial assistance such as Medifund. Such additional assistance is not reflected in the bill information shown above.