Waive GST charges at GP clinics
The Government absorbs goods and services tax for subsidised patients at restructured hospitals and polyclinics.
- by autobot
- Oct. 17, 2022
- Source article
Publisher object (23)
The Government absorbs goods and services tax for subsidised patients at restructured hospitals and polyclinics.
The same should also apply to primary care general practitioner (GP) clinics, as these clinics cater mainly to Singaporeans who do not need specialist care. This would narrow the cost difference between GP clinics and polyclinics, and at the same time might relieve the patient load at polyclinics.
There are more than 1,000 GP clinics in Singapore, and fewer than 30 polyclinics islandwide.
Wouldn’t this be a more efficient approach to even out the supply and demand needs of the primary care medical services sector?
In the light of the new Healthier SG initiative, it is also time to revisit some longstanding healthcare policies, including the need to obtain a referral letter from a polyclinic to enable one to obtain subsidised specialist services at restructured hospitals.