New not-for-profit private hospital planned in east under fixed-price land tender
The new hospital will provide residents with another lower-cost option for private healthcare, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
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Singapore: The government plans to release a site in the eastern part of Singapore for a new not-for-profit private acute hospital, which will fall under a fixed-price land tender approach, providing another lower-cost option for private healthcare.
It will be the first land release for private hospitals in almost two decades if the government proceeds with its plan, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Thursday (Apr 9).
The hospital can accommodate 300 to 400 beds, he added, during a speech marking the 65th anniversary of Mount Alvernia Hospital - Singapore's sole not-for-profit private acute hospital.
"Under such a model, bidders would then compete not based on how much they are prepared to pay for the land, but other qualitative factors, such as their care model, cost efficiency, approach to recruiting and developing manpower, and their commitment and policies towards affordable healthcare," Mr Ong said, of the fixed-price model.
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Beyond that, the government will also implement restrictions on bill sizes, so that hospital bills are a "certain percentile of the market and cannot lead the market".
Back in 2024, Singapore announced plans to introduce a new not-for-profit private acute hospital model to better complement public healthcare and increase residents' options for lower-cost private healthcare.
MOH had invited private healthcare operators to participate in an industry consultation for the model.
Mr Ong said on Thursday that rising private hospital costs were driven in part by overly generous insurance riders over the years, which encouraged both patients and providers to overconsume healthcare.
The strong insurance coverage also supported a private hospital operating model geared towards high-end care.
"The last time government tendered out land for private hospitals was some 20 years ago. The land was won with a high bid price and today we have a high-end private hospital occupying the land," he said.
"In the process, public healthcare also lost many healthcare professionals to the private hospital, which was very painful for us. That experience has made the Ministry of Health very cautious about having more private hospitals, or for that matter, very cautious about private hospitals expanding."
ENCOURAGING RESPONSE
MOH has been consulting many stakeholders on the not-for-profit private hospital, Mr Ong said.
"We have encouraging responses from potential operators and also enthusiastic donors and philanthropists. I believe we can make this a good project that will strengthen the healthcare ecosystem, and involve many stakeholders outside of public healthcare."
"There are still a few important issues we have to address, and I hope we are able to address them and arrive at a decision in the second half of the year, to launch the tender," he added.
The government has introduced measures in a bid to curb rising insurance premiums and private healthcare costs.
This month, private health insurers rolled out a new suite of Integrated Shield Plan riders, with premium reductions ranging between 16 and 55 per cent, in line with MOH's new requirements for riders to be more affordable.
Last May, MOH and HDB launched a new tender approach for general practitioner clinics at Bartley Beacon. Under the new approach, quality of care will account for 70 per cent of the tender evaluation, and rental will make up 30 per cent.
It came after a healthcare company made a successful monthly rental bid of S$52,188 (US$40,500) in Tampines.
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