[Parliament]Wang Yikang: Medical expenses continue to rise and consumption tax increase ensures that people can continue to afford medical expenses

my country cannot let medical expenses rise out of control, but it is also challenging to control expenses. Health Minister Wang Yikang pointed out that in the context of aging population and rising medical support, additional consumption tax revenue can sustainably support Singaporeans to obtain affordable medical services.

Wang Yikang said on Friday (March 7) when debating the Ministry of Health's expenditure budget on the Congressional Appropriations Committee that the government's medical budget 10 years ago was about 9 billion yuan, while this year's medical budget was 21 billion yuan. By 2030, this budget is expected to increase by at least 10 billion yuan to more than 30 billion yuan.

In contrast, after raising the consumption tax by 2 percentage points, it can bring about 5 billion yuan in additional income to my country.

“We need additional GST income, which is mainly paid by those with better economic conditions, foreigners and tourists to continue to provide affordable medical services to all Singaporeans,” he said.

The government's fiscal surplus exceeded expectations. In this year's government fiscal policy debate, opposition lawmakers questioned whether the government needs to raise the consumption tax in the past two years. They also believed that the Ministry of Finance's forecast of surplus was inaccurate and called on the government to strengthen budget marksmanship.

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In response, Wang Yikang responded: “We can discuss the best time to increase the consumption tax. However, if we do not increase our income in time as the population is aging and medical expenses continue to rise, we will not discuss the accuracy of the budget at that time. Because the fiscal situation will be severely deficit, there is no balanced budget target to target at all.”

Wang Yikang pointed out that people have high expectations for the public health system. The three goals that my country's medical system hopes to achieve are to ensure accessibility, high quality and affordability of medical services.

However, my country cannot allow medical expenses to increase uncontrollably, because taxpayers, insurance policyholders and patients will eventually pay for the bill. “However, it is very difficult to control the rising healthcare spending, especially when oneself or his loved ones are facing life or death.”