See also latency无底洞 for an example of medical inflation as CPIx inflation.

— My multiple layers of financial protection against medical costs.

• first layer — employee health insurance. Most Singapore employers cover major hospitalization + some outpatient
• [u] 2nd layer — shield plans for hospitalization. My own shield plan has SGD 400k/year max payout, with some minor limitations. It costs me about SGD 2k to protect my entire family.

Main complaint from Zeng Sheng — annual deductible in shield plans. This was introduced by government to /deter/ mindless overconsumption of medical resources. For example,

– unnecessary tests is a common waste in Singapore and U.S., contributing to medical cost inflation.
– hospital ward have discharge criteria to stop insured patients overstaying

Both of these layers are reimbursement-based. Additionally, I also have a small insurance paying a small lump sum without needing a receipt:

• [u] 3rd layer — early critical illness, covering cancers, heart + 30 other major diseases.

In my case, the two perceived likely killers are heart disease and cancer (but based on questionable evidence)

• [u] 4th layer  — if I’m incapacitated (aging or chronically ill) and can’t live my daily life by myself, then I need full time outpatient nursing care — cost is not covered by hospitalization plans, so I bought an eldercare supplement that pays $5k/M
• [u] 5th and last layer — any other hospitalization cost is payable using CPF Medisave account, either my own, my wife’s or my children’s. In contrast, the U.S. Medicare system doesn’t offer a personal pool of fund… too much /legwork/ before you get covered.
• ZengSheng suggested PA insurance, but too complicated in my experience.

The above are the layers of protections for major medical. In addition, there are also low-cost outpatient options:

1. [u] TCM (Traditional Chinese Medical) doctors are available everywhere in Singapore, and cheaper than GP doctors. My dad used them frequently in Singapore and China. So did I in NY, but only in Chinatown. When I retire in Singapore I will rely on TCM for many types of minor or chronic conditions.
2. [u] Singapore polyclinics are subsidized community hospitals catering to low-income citizens. If and when I retired in Singapore, I will rely on polyclinics a lot more. In recent years, they charged me $6.80 per visit. This is not a charity. Doctors are fully certified, often graduates from NUS medical school.

[u = limited reliability, affordability or availability in the U.S. system]

— U.S. vs Singapore
Compared to the tiny red dot Singapore, U.S. is a more resourceful, rich and advanced country with economic of scale. Yet, paradoxically U.S. residents have reasons to worry about the long-term reliability of their healthcare “cushions”.

I think the U.S. (public+private) healthcare is unsustainable, fragile and afflicted with excessive waste and inefficiency. See why U.S.medical cost higher