SIX days since the start of means testing for hospital patients seeking subsidised treatment, more than 90 per cent of those opting for B2- and C-class wards are getting the maximum subsidy.

The 8 per cent who are getting less than this comprise patients with no income but who live in expensive homes, and workers who earn more than the $3,200-a-month cut-off for full subsidy.

The Health Ministry implemented means testing to ensure that the bulk of funds meant for subsidies - $1.5 billion in 2007 - goes to patients who need them most.

Statistics from previous years show that 9 per cent of C-class patients and 13 per cent of B2 ones come from families in the top 20 per cent of income earners.

With means testing in place, anyone, rich or poor, can still opt for the most highly subsidised ward classes, but the better-off now get less financial help from the Government.

Subsidies in the C-class wards, where chest-high walls separate each room of eight to 12 beds, cover between 65 and 80 per cent of the bill; subsidies in the B2 class, where wards have full-height walls housing six to eight patients per room, range from 50 to 65 per cent.

The amount of subsidy a patient gets is based on his average monthly salary for the past 12 months, or the annual value of his home if he has no income.

Implementation has been smooth, said a ministry spokesman. Hospitals vary in their approach, with some letting patients know if they get the full subsidy, and others not doing so.

At Tan Tock Seng Hospital, patients who consent to having their incomes or housing types checked to determine their subsidy band are merely told their estimated bill sizes.

At Singapore General Hospital, they are given two estimated bill sizes - one at the subsidy level they are entitled to, and one with the maximum subsidy. If the figures are identical, then the patient would know he has qualified for the maximum.

Many patients The Straits Times spoke to were unaware that means testing had begun.

One man said he has not bothered with issues like this because he did not expect to be hospitalised. He said the counter staff told him his entire bill would be covered by his MediShield insurance and money from his Medisave account - which sounded like a good deal to him since he would not be out of pocket.

Miss Claire McIntyre, 83, may not be as cavalier. She is a nursing home resident, but her registered address remains the Serangoon Gardens bungalow in which she used to live.

Her housing type would likely qualify her for the smallest subsidy of 65 per cent for a C-class bed and 50 per cent for a B2 one.

Fainting spells have landed her in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was told her bill for a 14-day stay would come to $4,700 for C class and $5,000 for B2.

The bill can be paid with Medisave but, since she has never worked, she does not have a Central Provident Fund account and thus, no Medisave savings either.

Asked if she would have difficulty paying the bill, the sprightly silver-haired woman said she might have to sell the Serangoon Gardens house which she and her 79-year-old spinster sister share.

They moved into the same nursing home three months ago to get better care for about $1,500 a month each.

salma@sph.com.sg