MOH sets benchmarks for private hospital fees
NEW fee benchmarks have been set for certain types of hospital stays and surgical procedures, and existing benchmarks updated to factor in inflation.
Released by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (Jun 14), this is the third such set of fee benchmarks for private healthcare providers.
Hospital fee benchmarks have been set for the first time, for 21 common surgical procedures and eight common medical conditions.
Hospital fees cover components such as room charges, surgical facilities and equipment, implants, consumables, investigations, general nursing services and treatment, as well as medication.
One example is cataract surgery, with the hospital fee benchmark range set at S$2,600 to S$4,700. The recommended range for the surgeon fee is S$2,900 to S$4,400.
Fee benchmarks have also been set for more procedures undertaken by private surgeons and anaesthetists. There are now suggested prices for 2,100 procedures by private surgeons, up from an initial 200 benchmarks in 2018; guidelines for anaesthetists now cover 500 procedures, up from 200 at end-2020.
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Previous fee benchmarks for services and procedures have also been raised, to ensure they “remain reflective of current costs and inflationary pressures”, said MOH.
Surgeon fee benchmarks were raised by 12.1 per cent or 2.3 per cent a year, anaesthetist fees rose 9.9 per cent or 2.4 per cent a year, and doctors’ inpatient attendance fees are now up 5.7 per cent or 2.8 per cent a year.
The benchmarks are based on recommendations from an independent Fee Benchmarks Advisory Committee, which reviewed data such as historical fees from 2016 to the first half of 2022. Stakeholders were also consulted over several months.
To adjust existing benchmarks, the committee applied a “growth factor” that considered key costs such as manpower, rental and other operating expenses.
Surgeon fee benchmarks were introduced in 2018 to rein in healthcare costs. Since then, they have helped to bring down prices in private health services, said MOH. Close to 90 per cent of doctors have been charging within the recommended benchmarks.
Private urologist Dr Ng Chee Kwan, president of the Singapore Medical Association, said: “Doctors are likely to take reference from the fee benchmarks as they are required by regulation to provide financial counselling of their fees before or upon their admission to hospital.”
Insurers also refer to the benchmarks when setting the fee reimbursements for doctors on their panels, he added.
MOH noted that median private surgeon fees have remained stable for surgeries with benchmarks, while rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.7 per cent for surgeries without them.
However, bill sizes and hospital fees have continued to rise, indicating the need for further measures, said MOH.
The median total private bill size, which includes hospital and doctor professional fees, has risen at a CAGR of 4.3 per cent. The CAGR of median private hospital fees, which may include some components charged by doctors, is 4.5 per cent.
The latest round of benchmarks and updates therefore aims to provide a more comprehensive reference and keep existing benchmarks relevant.
While the guidelines are not mandatory for private healthcare providers, they have enabled doctors to be more aware of the range of prices for procedures among their peers, said MOH.
MOH has sent letters to private healthcare providers, indicating the range of prices and where the providers stand compared to their peers.
MOH noted, however, that doctors who charge above the benchmarks for surgeries may be doing so because some cases are more complex.
Patients looking to compare costs can find the fee benchmarks on the ministry’s website, as well as a database of historical bills for operations and conditions in both private and public hospitals.
The ministry said it will continue to monitor the impact of the fee benchmarks and could review them in the next three to five years if necessary. This corresponds to the usual fee benchmarks review cycle.
Private urologist Dr Tan Yeh Hong said the adjustment to the existing benchmarks was timely.
“However, it would be better to revise the rate at shorter intervals – for example, every two to three years – to better reflect inflation factors and operating costs,” he said.
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