Healthier SG a decisive shift to improve people's health: Ong

Moving towards greater preventive care will also help to reverse rising costs

- Salma Khalik

Singapore has done all it can to reduce the burden posed by chronic illnesses, but the number of people suffering from conditions such as high blood pressure continues to go up, pushing up healthcare costs.

Hence, the need to shift the strategy towards greater preventive care, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday.

Mr. Ong said the ministry's Healthier SG initiative to keep people healthier for longer is an important effort to reverse rising costs.

It has already tried many ways of doing so, including evaluations on whether treatments provide value for money, "removing the distortions caused by reckless medical insurance practices", and linking payment with patient outcome.

"It is not too late to shut the dam, and the way that is the most impactful and simplest to understand is to focus on preventive care," Mr. Ong told the audience of 1,350 in a keynote address at the Singapore Health and Biomedical Congress at the Singapore Expo.