Many of them are patients with serious chronic ailments, such as heart problems, for which treatment and medication can be costly. Some patients need 10-12 different medicines a day - which they will likely need for life. --ST PHOTO: THOMAS WHITE
THE Health Ministry is expecting an almost 50 per cent increase in requests for medical financial aid this year, with the current poor economic outlook.
So it has topped up the money to be given out through Medifund - the government health safety net for the really poor - by more than $23 million for this year.
The $73.7 million set aside for Medifund and Medifund Silver grants this financial year is the largest since the fund was set up in 1993.
The $50 million given out in the previous year which ended March 2008 was already $10 million more than for the preceeding year.
On top of the extra money, the ministry has also 'advised the Medifund committees to look out for needy cases to render appropriate assistance'.
But it appears that many patients already know where to seek help.
Medical social worker (MSW) Tan Sok Hiang of the National University Hospital said that over the past couple of months, she has seen triple the number of 'walk-ins', or people who seek financial help on their own.
Most of the cases hospital MSW, who assess the financial circumstances of patients who need help with their bills to see if they qualify for Medifund, are referred through the hospitals' clinics or wards.
Most of these walk-in cases are people in real need of financial help, leading Ms Tan to conclude that Medifund hand-outs this year will be significantly higher. She said: 'All my appointment slots are filled up. About 30 per cent are walk-ins, compared to 10 per cent in the past.'
Many of them are patients with serious chronic ailments, such as heart problems, for which treatment and medication can be costly. Some patients need 10-12 different medicines a day - which they will likely need for life.
In spite of the existing government subsidy, the cost can still be too much for some patients.
Without the financial help, patients have been known to just stop going to the clinic since they can't afford to pay for the medicine, resulting in their being re-admitted to hospital with a more severe problem.
The fund's annual report which was released yesterday, said the committee approved 356,566 applications for help - or 99.6 der cent of all requests last year.
Only 1,366 applications - or less than one in 200 - were turned down, either because they refused to have their finances assessed, or because they were not really needy, a ministry spokesman said.
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.
