Gaps in Singapore’s 3Ms healthcare safety net : the 4th M – membership.

Abstract

Healthcare costs are rising but healthcare remains a basic need. It is important that healthcare remains affordable to Singaporeans. This paper thus aims to evaluate the comprehensiveness of Singapore's existing healthcare safety net of Medisave, Medishield and Medifund -- the 3Ms. Our findings suggest that there are five groups of individuals who still fall through the perceived well-constructed safety net. Termed as the uninsured, they are the middle income group; elderly; housewives; students; and those with congenital anomalies, hereditary conditions and disorders. To strengthen the safety net, we propose a radical inclusion into Singapore's healthcare system: the 4th M, Membership – A flat rate all-inclusive Medishield.