People who knows me think that I'm a pretty morbid guy. This is mainly due to my stated suggestion that it's better to die young than to grow old. Mind you, this is just a theory I have.
Never did I expect the Singapore government to agree with me on this.
A few months ago when it was reported that a member of the Singapore cabinet suggested that Singaporeans should sent their old parents to old folks home in Malaysia, I thought it was just a slip of the tongue.
I was naive. When announcing that the Ministry of Health (MOH) is relaxing the use of Medisave, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that his next move will be to consider if Medisave should be allowed to pay for stays in nursing homes. With an ageing population, I guess that is understandable. In fact I welcome the move, but the relaxing for the use of Medisave this time is to allow Singaporeans to use Medisave overseas.
You put two and two together and I think very soon you will see a lot of Singaporeans shipping their old folks to Malaysia. One more reason it’s better to die young in Singapore than to grow old.
15 comments:
You put two and two together and I think very soon you will see a lot of Singaporeans shipping their old folks to Malaysia. One more reason it’s better to die young in Singapore than to grow old.
I don't see the link. So what if more S'porean elderly decide to retire in Johor? As long as the cost and quality are within their means and expectations, then why not? They can spend their Third Age better there.
Cost will be cheaper without question. Quality is another thing as their family will be further away making visits harder.
Aloysius can't see logic when it's plain in front of him. It is sad when citizens have to live out their lives overseas after working and living most of their lives here.
Recently, CNN runs a news article that more and more Americans are going to countries like Singapore, India to seek lower-cost healthcare.
The article mentioned SINGAPORE.
It is clear that behind Mr COW's motive is the lucrative money that he can bring in from overseas. He wants to drive the healthcare industry to generate profits.
Retiring folks can make ways for more advanced healthcare services needed by foreigners.
I have seen several of Aloysius's post before. He's basically a running DOG.
I welcome all comments from all people here, even if they are different from my own views. Aloysius is stating his view on this topic. What's posts he has in the past do not matter
Hi Ghost,
Quality is another thing as their family will be further away making visits harder.
Hmm, for the family maybe. But I'm referring to the quality of nursing or retirement homes for the elderly i.e. do they like it there? If they do, and their family thinks it's OK, then spending their Third Age is arguably better.
The two anon. are free to criticise or insult me, albeit foolish. Sighz. Thanks Ghost for your civil reply(:
There's no reason to believe that the quality of nursing/retirement homes there are better. If they are, chances are that those Americans reported will go to JB instead of Singapore for their healthcare treatments.
There's no reason to believe that the quality of nursing/retirement homes there are better. If they are, chances are that those Americans reported will go to JB instead of Singapore for their healthcare treatments.
Again, you're comparing apples and oranges. "Americans reported will go to JB instead of Singapore for their healthcare treatments" - we're on the topic of nursing/retirement homes, NOT other types of healthcare, where S'pore may have an edge over Johor, or other SEAsian countries, in terms of quality and expertise.
Furthermore, cost and quality are dependent on the means and expectations of the elderly and their families. 'better', which I never mention in the comments here, is too general a term.
So actually what I wanna say is...chill la (:
Uh...you don't think nursing/retirement is healthcare? Why? What sector are they in if not healthcare?
Thanks Aloysius, you've shown yourself as someone who can't take criticism =) Foolish indeed, hypocrite
Aloysius the issue is whether people should be able to retire in Singapore their own country if they want to. If you think someone should have to retire in Johor when they want to live out their lives in Singapore their homeland, please explain why. So far you have not done so.
Personally I agree with Aloysius that it's no big deal. It's not fair for younger Singaporeans to subsidise healthcare costs of older Singaporeans. If they retire in JB, they can reduce the burden on Singapore's system and help us keep our taxes low. I think we are in danger of slipping into welfarism if we start subsidising nursing homes for people who did not save up a lot of money, especially those lower income folks.
I don’t think we are in any danger of welfare. In fact Singapore’s danger is the direct opposite.
Hi Ghost,
you don't think nursing/retirement is healthcare? Why? What sector are they in if not healthcare?
I think you need to read more carefully. I said: "NOT other types of healthcare"
Of course nursing/retirement is under healthcare sector, but I'm saying that healthcare has MANY types - broadly categorised into pri, sec and long-term. The report which you allude to is likely to be referring to secondary or hospital care treatments e.g. Americans coming to S'pore for ailments like back probs which require surgeries etc.
Nursing/retirement belongs to the long-term care. Hence your previous comment was wrong, when you claimed "There's no reason to believe that the quality of nursing/retirement homes there are better. If they are, chances are that those Americans reported will go to JB instead of Singapore for their healthcare treatments" - because you're simply comparing apples and oranges.
To anon,
Aloysius the issue is whether people should be able to retire in Singapore their own country if they want to. If you think someone should have to retire in Johor when they want to live out their lives in Singapore their homeland, please explain why. So far you have not done so.
This is not the issue at all. This nursing-home-in-Johor issue has simply been blown out of proportion because of misinterpretations by people like you. Of course S'poreans should have the right to retire here. And if they don't want to, they can choose to retire elsewhere. This is an individual or family choice. The govt is not forcing the people to retire in Johor. Where is the evidence to show they did?
Sorry Aloysius but I don't think there is any misinterpretations here. First there is a suggestion that Singaporeans should sent their old parents to old folks home in Malaysia a few months ago, now there Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan himself said that his next move will be to consider if Medisave should be allowed to pay for stays in nursing homes overseas. Even to me who first thought that there orginal statement was a slip of the tongue, there's no mistake on what the Singapore government idea and position on this is.
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