Employee healthcare update: Singapore introduces new fee benchmarks for private healthcare sector

These are expected to allow stakeholders such as patients, healthcare providers, insurers, and employers to make more informed healthcare decisions.

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) has released new fee benchmarks for hospital fees, and surgeon and anaesthetist professional fees for the private healthcare sector. This aims to make the charges more transparent and allow stakeholders such as patients, healthcare providers, insurers, and employers to make more informed healthcare decisions.

First published in 2018, the fee benchmarks are the MOH's recommended charges for doctors and hospital fees in the private sector, for routine and typical cases. It sets a reasonable range of fees that patients and insurers could expect to pay, and serves as a reference for doctors and hospitals in setting their fees.

Separate fee benchmarks apply for doctors and hospitals as they are usually separate entities in the private healthcare sector. The fee benchmarks do not apply to public hospitals.

Through the recent key changes, benchmarks are adjusted to take into account cost increases. New benchmarks for hospital charges and professional fees have also been introduced.

These include:

• Hospital fee benchmarks for 29 common surgical procedures and medical conditions; and
• Surgeon fee benchmarks for 2,100 procedures, anaesthetist fee benchmarks for 500 procedures, and doctors’ inpatient attendance fee benchmarks.

The full list of fee benchmarks is published here on MOH’s website.

Fee benchmarks for hospital charges

Of the 29 hospital fee benchmarks introduced, 21 cover common surgical procedures and eight cover common medical conditions. Hospital fee benchmarks include fee components such as hospital room charges, surgical facilities and equipment, implants, consumables, investigations, general nursing services and treatment, and medication. However, the hospital fee benchmarks exclude doctors’ professional fees (i.e., surgeon, anaesthetist and doctors’ inpatient attendance fees), which have separate fee benchmarks. 

Patients and payers should take note that some fee components of the hospital fee benchmarks could be charged by the treating doctor, but billed through the hospital. Patients may clarify with their doctor or hospital if in doubt over who the charging party is. Notwithstanding this, the hospital fee benchmarks provide a common reference for the reasonableness of the total fee billed by the hospital, regardless of the charging party.

Fee benchmarks for doctors’ professional fees

MOH has introduced new surgeon fee benchmarks for the remaining 1,900 less common surgical procedures. With this, all 2,100 procedures which can tap on MediShield Life and MediSave will now be covered. Anaesthetist fee benchmarks have also been rolled out for a total of 500 procedures. These benchmarks cover almost all surgical cases in the private sector.

Benchmark process

The latest fee benchmarks were recommended by an independent Fee Benchmarks Advisory Committee (FBAC) and accepted by MOH. In developing and updating the fee benchmarks, the FBAC reviewed past transacted fees data. Between June 2022 and March 2023, over 10 stakeholder consultation sessions were held with about 600 specialists, administrators from all private hospitals, and insurers.

To ensure that the benchmarks remain reflective of current costs and inflationary pressures faced by doctors, MOH has also adjusted all existing and new doctors’ professional fee benchmarks by a growth factor, which took into consideration key costs, such as manpower, rental and other operating expenses for the past years.

MOH urges providers to refer and quote the relevant fee benchmarks when providing financial counselling to patients. Providers who charge above the fee benchmarks should be prepared to justify their higher fees when queried by the patient or payer, including whether the fees are charged by the hospital or doctor. Patients are also encouraged to use the relevant fee benchmarks and hospital bill size information found on MOH’s website as references for cost comparison when considering care options. When in doubt, patients are encouraged to seek clarification from their providers.

Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung commented: "Fee benchmarks are not mandatory. We also recognise that healthcare providers can be different in terms of their treatment and services, so price is only one aspect of the care they deliver.
Nevertheless, benchmarks serve as important reference points, for patients to compare costs, and doctors to decide on their charges."

Wee Siew Bock, Chairman of FBAC said: “The trends are encouraging, and more doctors are charging within the fee benchmarks since their introduction in 2018. Rolling out more surgeon and anaesthetist fee benchmarks will give patients, doctors and insurers a more complete reference and help them make better informed decisions. For the hospital fee benchmarks to have a similar effect on hospital charges, both doctors and hospitals will need to work together to ensure that either party charges reasonably. I hope all stakeholders continue to use the fee benchmarks fairly to ensure that healthcare costs remain sustainable.”

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