President Donald Trump’s liberation day on the 5th April 2025 has sent the world into turmoil. It seems that no one, including penguins, on this planet will be spared.
I am no economist nor a fortune teller. However, that will not stop me from attempting to predict what will happen to us as far as healthcare is concerned. I shall do it in a four part series touching on the population, the professionals, the payers and the policy makers.
With tariff levied on all imports into the United States of America, and reciprocal tariff imposed on American export, it will surely spiral down into a mud slinging match on the geopolitical front. All these will affect the livelihood of the individuals, the companies and the factories and all businesses.
People will lose jobs, companies will close down, crime will rise and the dream of an ideal place to live in may be threatened.
Public
For the members of the public who are not ill, life goes on as usual.
Important items such as disease prevention, vaccination will certainly take a back seat. Personal healthcare insurance may be too costly now and people may default their payment or they may not consider having one if they had not had one.
As illogical as it is, what is not imminent, most people would rather save on that.
Socially, younger couples may put off getting married as that would incur a huge sum of money. If they choose to get married, they are more likely to opt for a smaller reception. Covid has taught us to have smaller wedding reception and the possibility of holding an online wedding.
If they get married, the young couple will have to consider many times before they decide to have a child. The medical cost can be unnecessary and saved up for other purposes. Raising a child up in Singapore incur large amount of funds. Infant care, child care, tuition, enrichment classes, clothes, holiday are just some of the items a young married couple can save on.
Patient
For the ordinary Singaporean who falls sick during this time, if he still holds a job, his company health benefits will remain. If not, the patient will have to foot his bill himself. When he could not bear with the costs of outpatient care, he will move to public subsidized healthcare.
The choice and options of treatment would thus be narrowed. The basic care however will be unlikely to be affected.
We would expect patients to seek medical help later and develop into more complications requiring tertiary care and more expensive management.
For those who are in the middle class and have the means to travel to neighbouring countries, they are likely to venture there for all kinds of medical treatment. Already many Singaporeans are getting their glasses made in Johor Bahru, buying audiometers there, buying both original and generic medicines at the pharmacy and getting their dental needs fulfilled. Some have even gone there for surgical procedures.
In a downturn such as these where the entire world is hit, it is likely Singapore will still have an economic advantage with a stronger dollar. Johor Bahru will not be the only stop. They are likely to travel near and far to countries and cities such as Bangkok, Indonesia, India and the Philippines for cheaper healthcare and some holiday fun all rolled into one.
It is a blessing to be a Singaporean at this dark hour. It seems that no matter how bad I try to paint the scenario, the average Singaporean is unlikely to suffer too much from the lack of care due to the economic reason. We shall explore the profession side of things in our second instalment.
