Benchmarks for surgical fees raise transparency; help keep lid on costs

THE Ministry of Health's recent publication of fee benchmarks for common surgical procedures in the private sector has been a long time coming.

Singapore's rising medical costs are a perennial concern. AON's study, Asia's Healthcare Trends 2017/2018, estimated Singapore's medical inflation rate at 9.5 per cent in 2017; this is expected to inch up to 10.9 per cent this year. While this is an improvement from as much as 20 per cent in 2014, th…