WP's He Ting Ru didn't provide full facts on elderly patient needing help with medical bills: Koh Poh Koon
SINGAPORE — An anecdote raised by Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (MP) He Ting Ru in Parliament in February did not take in the full facts of the case, and led to a mischaracterisation of Singapore society as one that does not look after its seniors, Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Manpower, said in Parliament on Monday (July 4).
In a Feb 28 speech, Ms He had claimed that seniors asked doctors for the medication dosages to be cut down because they cannot afford the full dosages.
"What does this say about us as a society?" she had said then.
She gave details of a man having problems paying for his medication and who asked to cut back on his medication because he believed that he could not afford them. She added that she had made an appeal to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board on his behalf.
Dr Koh said the MP did not give ample time for agencies to respond to her appeal on the patient's behalf before telling Parliament about the case.
Ms He replied that the point she wanted to make was that residents feel the need to jump through many hoops for aid and feel humiliated in the process.
