\n<\/p>\n
Lower treatment costs are a significant draw for patients considering healthcare procedures across the Causeway.<\/p>\n
Savings for procedures performed in Malaysia instead of Singapore ranged from 24 to 74 per cent, according to a 2025 study done by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a Singapore-based think-tank.<\/p>\n
The savings were estimated at 74 per cent for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), 37 per cent for knee replacement surgery and 24 per cent for heart bypass surgery.<\/p>\n
But cheaper procedure prices do not necessarily mean patients will pay less overall, said Mr Francis Hoan, associate director of financial advisory at Financial Alliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire treatment cost is not just a procedure price, but it consists of consultation, pre-op test, the procedure itself, hospital stay, anaesthetist, specialist fees, medication, and follow-up visits, or even complications,\u201d said Mr Hoan.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t compare just the sticker price but compare the total cost.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that patients should factor in accommodation for each trip, time taken off work and what MediSave will and will not cover overseas.<\/p>\n
Patients should also consider their insurance coverage when comparing treatment in Singapore and Malaysia, said Mr Hoan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMost Integrated Shield Plans and MediShield Life don’t cover overseas private treatment, so the cheap price may be fully self-paid versus a small copayment locally,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n
Planned, lower-complexity procedures with limited follow-up care are more likely to make financial sense for patients considering treatment across the border, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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LOOK BEYOND STICKER PRICE, SAYS EXPERT Lower treatment costs are a significant draw for patients considering healthcare procedures across the Causeway. Savings for procedures performed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dam.mediacorp.sg\/image\/upload\/s--3r1uR4Th--\/c_fill,g_auto,h_676,w_1200\/fl_relative,g_south_east,l_mediacorp:cna:watermark:2021-08:cna,w_0.1\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1\/mediacorp\/cna\/image\/2026\/08\/13\/regency_hero.png?itok=50-I-PTx","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[184,17264,4999,5483,22,3985,4865],"class_list":["post-76217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-news-sg-global","tag-hospital","tag-medisave","tag-patients","tag-sees","tag-singapore","tag-surge","tag-treatment","wpcat-2-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/76218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}