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On those days when I accompanied my late mother to the hospital for treatment, I spoke with other cancer patients and found that many of them were facing financial difficulties while receiving treatment of non-standard drugs, i.e. drugs which are not subsidized by the restructured hospitals. These non-standard drugs are generally very expensive. For your information, we paid about S$1,000 per chemotherapy session for CPT-11 treatment at a restructured hospital. I also learned from other patients that they were paying much more for their treatment using different drugs. Very often, most of these cancer patients failed to obtain financial assistance from their respective restructured hospitals' Medical Social Service Department or Medical Social Work Department because of stringent guidelines imposed by the latter.
To find out more about financial assistance scheme, please visit the
following web sites :
National Cancer Centre
National University Hospital
KK Women's and Children's Hospital
Singapore General Hospital
Singapore Cancer Society
Children's Cancer Foundation
Breast Cancer Foundation
NKF Cancer Fund
Leukemia & Lymphoma Foundation
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports offers several
schemes to help those people in financial distress. They include
the Public Assistance Scheme, the Rent and Utilities Assistance
Scheme and Short-term (interim) Financial Assistance.
If you need help, you can call :
- Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) 6258 9595
- Community Development Councils (CDCs) 1800-344 1234
- Family service centres : 1800-838-0100
What is Medifund?
Medifund is a financial assistance scheme to help needy Singaporean patients pay for their medical expenses. It is available to patients seeking admission to Class B2 or C wards of government and restructured hospitals who cannot afford to pay the charges. If you would like to seek Medifund assistance, please inform the hospital staff, who will then refer you to the Medical Social Worker, who will interview you and assist you with the Medifund application.
Medifund assistance is for patients who are facing financial hardship. It is not an entitlement, and patients have to fulfil certain income criteria before their applications can be approved. The application will be considered by the Hospital Medifund Committee and the amount of help from Medifund will depend on each individual's circumstances and the patient's financial background.
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w.e.f. 1 Jan 2023.