So the Budget 2011 has been drawn and it turns out that the Ministry of Health will receive a $4 billion dollar budget. What does it mean for people like you and me ? Well I paid a visit to MOH’s website (http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/cos.aspx) and let’s just say several new plans are in the pipeline (eg. New general hospital to be built in Sengkang and new polyclinic in Punggol, redevelop 5 Polyclinics in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Geylang, Tampines, & Yishun, thank you very much).
The ones which may interest you the most would most probably be:
“Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed in Parliament that those aged 50 and above can now tap on Medisave for colonoscopies, which detect colorectal cancer, and mammograms to screen for breast cancer.”
That doesn’t sound too bad does it? In fact, it’s a brilliant idea! Colorectal cancer is the top cancer here, with 1,455 new cases and 638 deaths a year. Breast cancer is the top cancer in women, with about 1,430 new cases and 329 deaths annually.
But wait did I read that correctly? 50 years and above? Um why the age limit? Shouldn’t patients get screenings as early as possible to increase the chances of detecting cancerous tumours? These days, patients as young as in their teens and early twenties are getting diagnosed with cancers that we previously associated with the middle-aged and aged crowd, and various public service ads are directed at younger people to get their health check-ups done. A practical way to do so, instead of spending money on advertising campaigns that do not always promise results, would be to remove the age barrier and provide free or subsidized check-ups even for the younger population. Why splurge on something that delivers half-way results over a sure-win solution, especially when it's for something as important as healthcare?
