It is wrong to penalise policyholders who want to buy riders for their insurance plans (“Co-payment mandated for new IP insurance riders in bid to curb ‘buffet syndrome’”; March 7).

In cases where private hospitals and doctors send patients for unnecessary tests or treatments knowing they can be claimed through insurance, shouldn’t the Singapore Medical Council act on them and implement a system of checks to scrutinise these bills and penalise the doctors or sanction the hospitals?

How did medical bills at private hospitals get to be so high in some cases? Do doctors have so much leeway to bill unnecessary procedures? Do drug companies offer any benefits to doctors for using their drugs?

When doctors refer patients to other doctors in the private practice, they end up “giving business” to other doctors. Sooner or later, patient cases end up being processed through the system as a kind of “currency”. There is also the temptation to latch onto the patient’s insurance company for monetary gains, and this means doctors will not be looking out for the patient’s best interest but the business they get for themselves and their clinics or hospitals.

We cannot look away and say that unethical practices or the problem of overcharging will not arise or have not transpired.

Yes, the State cannot take full responsibility for the medical care of its citizens. So at the individual level, doctors must balance their personal requirements with their patients’ needs. They must have self-discipline and a genuine heart to serve those who are ill or in need of medical care.

Healthcare providers that have signed with insurance companies are paid by a schedule and there should be a pre-defined payment for each medical procedure. When healthcare providers do not have a pricing schedule, they can bill a gross amount to an insurance company.

The Health Ministry should mandate that healthcare providers provide a close estimate of the difference between the billed rates and the reimbursement rates — just like how clinics under the Community Health Assist Scheme are required to break down the costs of every item billed.