Elderly health costs to rise tenfold in Singapore
25-Aug-16, The Straits Times
Elderly healthcare costs in Singapore are projected to rise tenfold over the next 15 years to more than USD49 bn (SGD66 bn) annually.
%20Tiffany%20Goh_The%20Straits%20Times.jpg "Elderly health costs to rise tenfold in Singapore (c) Tiffany Goh The Straits Times")
Image: Tiffany Goh / The Straits Times
This means an average of USD37,427 will be spent on healthcare for each elderly person by 2030. This is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, just ahead of Australia.
Dr Jeremy Lim, a partner at Oliver Wyman, said a proposed review of ElderShield is timely as it covers only the severely disabled and the payout is modest. "We can also look at other new solutions such as having reverse mortgage schemes to allow people to... pay for healthcare when they are old or allowing the use of MediShield and Medisave overseas," he added.