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MOH may require private clinics, hospitals to itemise bills

SINGAPORE — All private hospitals and clinics could be required to issue itemised receipts to patients in order to increase pricing transparency and accountability, said Minister of State for Health Lam Pin Min today (July 13).

SINGAPORE — All private hospitals and clinics could be required to issue itemised receipts to patients in order to increase pricing transparency and accountability, said Minister of State for Health Lam Pin Min today (July 13).

Dr Lam said the Ministry of Health is studying whether to make this compulsory as part of its review of the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act. He said this to Members of Parliament (MPs) who wanted more billing transparency from clinics participating in the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS).

More than half (or about 850) of all private general practitioner clinics and about three-quarters (or 550) of private dental clinics participate in CHAS, which subsidises visits by lower- and middle-income households as well as those in the Pioneer Generation.

As part of the scheme, patients are entitled to subsidies of up to S$200 to S$540 a year for conditions under the Chronic Disease Management Programme.

Currently, patients may check their subsidy balance for chronic conditions through the CHAS website or hotline. MP for Tampines GRC Baey Yam Keng said some CHAS recipients would have difficulty accessing these channels and asked if the MOH could provide a yearly update of the subsidies used, which would also serve as a check against doctors adding bogus additional treatments on top of genuine consultations.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu, MP for Tanjong Pagar, asked if the ministry could advise CHAS clinics to provide information on patients’ subsidy balances in itemised bills issued.

Dr Lam said it is exploring measures to enhance pricing transparency to patients and the accountability of the clinics for their charges.

“While it is currently not mandatory for clinics to issue itemised receipts, MOH is actually looking at ... making this mandatory for all licensed clinics as part of our review of the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act and regulations.”

MOH is aware of requests for other ways to check CHAS subsidy balances, he said.

The ministry also encourages patients to check with clinics if they have queries on treatment and charges, and to request for itemised receipts to stay informed.

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