A promising model for hospitals

The Ministry of Health’s (MOH) intention to

introduce a new not-for-profit private acute hospital model

, with private healthcare operators here invited to participate in an industry consultation for such a model, is good news for Singaporeans. Essentially, the model would seek to provide a bridge between public hospitals – where care is heavily subsidised but which are naturally under pressure from the patient load – and private hospitals where waiting times tend to be shorter but which are correspondingly expensive. As at 2022, Singapore had 19 acute hospitals – which focus on treatment and surgery – of which 10 are public and nine private. Mount Alvernia Hospital, which is currently Singapore’s only private not-for-profit acute hospital, has carved out valuable space for itself within this framework. This suggests that its niche role could provide the basis for a new model which combines the affordability of public healthcare and the convenience of private healthcare in a degree that appeals to Singaporeans.

The industry consultation exercise initiated by MOH should shine light on how to make the new system work. Fundamentally, under the new model, profits would not be distributed to shareholders (as they are for private institutions) and would be reinvested instead in the hospital or used for charitable and other not-for-profit activities. It is not that not-for-profits cannot be profitable; indeed, it is only by making money that they can reinvest or donate it. However, making profits is not their primary purpose, and hence the public expectation that they would be contributing to the wider good of the community, at the most basic level of healthcare, without constant concern for financial bottom lines.