According to Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon, Workers' Party MP He Ting Ru improperly characterized Singapore society as one that does not care for the elderly when she provided an example in February without providing government agencies the opportunity to reply to the situation.
Dr. Koh addressed the issue in Parliament on Monday (July 4) during question time. Ms. He (Sengkang GRC) initially brought it up in a speech on February 28 when she mentioned seniors who sought doctors to cut the quantities of prescribed medications because they could not afford the entire price.
She had queried, "What does that say about us as a society?"
Dr. Koh, who was also Senior Minister of State for Health at the time, requested clarifications from Ms. He during a following April session.
During a Meet-the-People session, the resident informed her that he no longer had the resources to pay out-of-pocket for the prescriptions recommended for his chronic diseases, despite using MediSave and other subsidies.
Ms On his behalf, he appealed to the Central Provident Fund Board.
Dr. Koh stated on Monday that he had evaluated the case facts and was pleased that the healthcare support system had functioned as expected.
He stated that the resident, whom he addressed to as Mr. H for purposes of anonymity, had access to extra channels of care, but assumed he did not since he did not follow his doctor's advice to see a medical social worker in September 2021.
Dr. Koh stated that if Mr. H had done so, he would have been told of his eligibility for a 62.5% subsidy on his medications under the Medication Assistance Fund, which is currently available to him.
Dr. Koh stated that Mr. H was notified on March 16 that his withdrawal limit under the MediSave Chronic Disease Management Programme had been adjusted from $700 to $800 per year in response to Ms. He's petition.
He noted that Ms. He had mentioned Mr. H's case in her Feb. 28 address just two business days after she filed the appeal on Feb. 24, before the facts of the case had been resolved and government agencies had the opportunity to reply.
"The author portrayed a picture of a society in which elderly are driven to reduce quantities of required and important medications because they cannot afford them. Implicit is the notion that this state of events is the result of a government that is out of touch with reality or indifferent "he added.
"That is not an accurate description. In addition, it is unfair to the organizations on the ground "The healthcare system is created to serve people in need, such as the elderly and low-income individuals, he added.
Ms. He responded that the larger point she wished to convey was that residents continue to believe they must jump through several hoops to receive assistance, and feel "demoralized" and even "a little bit embarrassed" in the process.
She emphasized that she was not casting aspersions on physicians and that she had never implied that it was the doctors who instructed Mr. H to take fewer medications or lower his doses.
"If the systems are operational and adaptable, are our residents aware that they exist? How can we convey the message to our residents without giving them the impression that we don't care, that the system doesn't care, that they have to really fight for it, and that they have to be humiliated? This is their sentiment, "She stated,
Dr. Koh said that it was not improper for Ms. He to advocate on behalf of her resident.
"The point I want to make here is that as legislators making remarks in this chamber, let's be clear about the facts before we make statements in Parliament so as not to tarnish the reputation or work of agencies on the ground," he added.
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