Scary hospital bill

It was not the first time it (hospital bill) stunned me. Neither was the second time.

First experience was in a few years back, when a naughty virus attacked my liver and made me stayed at the Changi General Hospital for almost 2 months.
Thanks to ‘not so generous but rather care’ company, I could stay comfortably at ‘A’ class (There is a standard everywhere in this world). However, as per company’s policy, unless at Raffles Hospital, we have to settle the bill first, then claim back from the company later.

Once in a week, hospital office staff came to my room (with a very big smile) and asked me to settle the weekly bill, after asking me how I was doing. Week after week, signing more and more bills, I was getting a little nervous, not because of my health but because of the numbers that I signed on the invoice.

Here, in this small island, most of the things are not cheap. Whatever you do, you almost need to pay for it. Your daily stuffs will dig your pocket (nowadays getting deeper). If you have to do something extra for your health, you’d better have deeper pocket or medical insurance covered or be employed by a caring company.
But of course, this small island gives you so many other alternatives. There are many other lower classes and places that you can go to enjoy government’s subsidy. Besides, if you are working or were working, you have been forced to save some amount of money monthly for your medical expenses.

In case you are assuming that you should do whatever it takes to treat your illness and medical related stuffs, followings are the numbers that you should be aware of.

If you are diagnosed with some minor illness (for instance, fever), it could cost you S$30 – S$40 (per visit to doctor)
If you need to have minor surgical treatment (same day discharge from the hospital), it could cost you S$3,000 – S$5,000.
Touch wood, if you have to admit to the hospital and would like to stay in a single room with some privacy, a single room will cost you about S$400 per day. I leave you to calculate the total cost.
If you are planning to welcome the arrival of your child at a good hospital, it could cost you S$4,500 – S$5,500.

So be healthy, chum.