Assessing Out-of-pocket Costs for Outpatient Mental Health Treatment Across Public and Private Settings

Dr Hamid Razak asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has assessed the typical out-of-pocket costs borne by patients for outpatient mental health treatment, including medication and psychotherapy, across public and private settings; and (b) whether these findings are being used to inform ongoing reviews of outpatient healthcare financing.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: In 2023, subsidised patients seeking outpatient treatment for mental health conditions under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) incurred annual post-subsidy bills of around $300 to $500 at public and selected private settings on average, depending on the complexity of their condition. Out-of-pocket costs can be further offset through the MediSave 500/700 and Flexi-MediSave schemes.

The Ministry routinely reviews our mainstream financing schemes based on such data. The Ministry recently announced an increase of MediSave withdrawal limits for CDMP treatments from $500 and $700 to $700 and $1,000 to better cover the post-subsidy bills for simple and complex chronic patients respectively, including those with chronic mental health conditions.