• All blog entries
    • Calculators
    • Case studies
    • Cost of living
    • CPF Are You Ready?
    • CPF Matters
    • Credit Management
    • e-Learning
    • Estate Planning
    • Events
    • Financial advisers
    • High Networth
    • Insurance
    • Investments
    • Letters to the Press
    • Magazines
    • Others
    • Retirement Planning
    • Scams
    • Surveys
    • Tragic Stories
    • Unethical sales process
    • Videos
  • Legal
  • Testimonies
    • Individual testimonies
    • Gallery
  • My Account
Hi, looking for a fee-based financial planner in Singapore? Read this article now!
  • Home
  • About
    • About Wilfred Ling
    • Why do you run your own professional financial planning practice?
  • FAQs
    • FAQs on Wilfred Ling’s Financial Services
    • FAQs on Financial Planning
    • FAQs on Investments
    • FAQs on Insurance
    • FAQs on Estate Planning
  • Services
    • Overview
    • Create a financially secure plan for your young family (package details)
    • Retirement Planning
    • Investment Portfolio Management
    • Insurance Planning
  • Fees
  • Cool Tools
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
You are here: Home / CPF Are You Ready? / Refused kidney dialysis because got no money

Refused kidney dialysis because got no money

11, March 2014 by Wilfred Ling Leave a Comment

I read from the newspaper in horror that Singapore has the fifth highest kidney failure rate in the world. What is even worse is that there are some kidney patients who refused treatment because they cannot afford to do so.

The article published on 24 February 2014 by Straits Times entitled “Some kidney patients refuse treatment and choose to die” stated that Khoo Teck Puat Hospital had 24 patients suitable for dialysis declined the procedure in 2011. Two of them wanted treatment but families refused (perhaps due to financial?); 4 turned down because they did not want to burden their family and six rejected dialysis because it was too expensive. In other words, 12 or 50% turned down kidney dialysis likely due to financial reason.

The newspaper also stated that the kidney dialysis cost $2,500 to more than $4000 a month. Voluntary welfare organizations would charge at a subsidized rate depending on the outcome of means-testing.

I checked the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) website. It does not state how it would mean test other than must not own a private property above $11,000 per annum in annual value (AV). Note that its “private property”. The AV is the estimated annual rent of the property if it were to be rented out, excluding the furniture, furnishings and maintenance fees. For 2014, the AV for a 4 room HDB flat is $10,500 - $11,700. So you can imagine that it is highly likely any private property would have exceeded $11,000 pretty easily.

For Kidney Dialysis Foundation (KDF), it states applicant family’s monthly per capital income cannot exceed $1,500. For a household of 3 persons (husband, wife and 1 child) with both husband & wife working, the income of each must not exceed 1500 x 3 / 2 = $2250!

What the above means (either by AV or by income) is that the subsidy isn’t available for many of the middle class individuals. The low-income group has subsidy, the high networth is rich enough to build hospitals but the middle class has to depend on themselves. That is why financial planning is so important.

Note that Medishield Life which will be made compulsory in 2015 for all including those with pre-existing condition. This is good news for those who are currently uninsurable and did not enroll in Medishield either by choice or by circumstances. However, I do not think the coverage for kidney dialysis under Medishield Life will be significantly too different Medishield's. Currently Medishield pays $1000 per month for Kidney Dialysis. I do not think the new Medishield Life will offer significantly higher than this amount other than adjustment for inflation.

This article was first posted on CPF's IM$avvy website:http://www.cpf.gov.sg/imsavvy/blog_post.asp?postid=829036359-485-3152734636

Like this article? Subscribe to my newsletter below for more.

Get regular Tips on Financial Planning. Free subscription for 3 years. Covers all aspect of financial planning such as 'How much salary you should have?', 'How to avoid insurance that is not suitable?", 'What are the retirement planning methods?", etc

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: CPF Are You Ready?, Insurance, Tragic Stories

What do you think? Leave a comment. Cancel reply


WILFRED LING, CFA

WANT TO GET REGULAR TIPS ON FINANCIAL PLANNING?

JOIN with thousands of other subscribers in getting tips on all aspect of financial planning such as "What is the minimum salary required?", "How avoid insurance that is not suitable", etc.


WILFRED LING IN THE NEWS

Click HERE to find out more.


THE KIND OF CLIENTS I AM LOOKING FOR

NEW TO US?

Learn how you can fully benefit from this massive website: HERE

For Registered Users Only (free)

  • How and what to invest now? (Webinar) 28/7/2022
  • How to identify high performing unit trusts in 3 steps (Webinar) 3/9/2021
  • Financial Planning – Christian Perspective Part 2 (Webinar) 14/8/2021
  • How and what to invest now? (Webinar) 22/7/2021
  • Financial Planning – Christian Perspective Part 1 (Webinar) 10/7/2021

View All

For Clients Only

  • Video Message to Clients 30/12/2021
  • Exclusive client-only Investment Update Webinar by Wilfred 26/11/2021
  • JPMorgan Guide to Market Q2 2020 15/4/2020
  • JPMorgan Perspective Q2 2020 15/4/2020
  • JPMorgan Guide to Market Q1 2020 5/2/2020

View All

Top Posts

  • Strange way of how CPF Interest is calculated & retirement planning CPF has a rather strange way of calculating interest. I...
  • Access Information & Sign Up Page
  • Why are your prospects paying expensive investment courses instead of consulting you?   This video is for financial advisers. However...
  • List of all blog articles
  • AIA Pro Achiever 2.0 and my recommendations AIA Pro Achiever 2.0 was a product which someone recent...

Recent comments

  • Sinkie on Why Vanguard Fund Investors Underperformed The Fund Significantly?
  • Sinkie on Why You Always BUY HIGH In Investments?
  • honest_me on Cancer patient ends up with $33,000 bill after insurer refuses to pay for drug & what you must do to avoid this situation
  • susan on Single Premium NTUC Income SAIL
  • susan on Single Premium NTUC Income SAIL
  • LittleTiger on Nomination in insurance policies

To be notified of new blog post, like this facebook page

To be notified of new blog post, like this facebook page

Read articles based on different categories

Investment Login

iFAST Central: Login

iFAST Prestige: Login

Navigator: Login

Chartered Financial Analyst

CFA

Chartered Financial Consultant

ChFC

Featured Blogger

IM$avvy

© Copyright 2006-2022 Wilfred Ling

This advertisement or publication has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore

hollow-nasty
hollow-nasty
hollow-nasty
hollow-nasty