By Ng Wan Ching

HOW much would you save by opting for surgery in a Johor Baru medical centre instead of a hospital here?

From 1 Mar, the use of Medisave has been allowed for elective hospitalisation overseas. And The New Paper has learnt that the first claim under this is set to be made.

Singaporean taxi driver Ali Ahmed has undergone surgery in Regency Specialist Hospital in Johor Baru. (read more)

He's one of the first Singaporeans to go to Malaysia for medical treatment after the change.

So, how much has he saved?

Mr Ali has almost halved his final bill.

His procedure, called a laminectomy, to remove a small part of his backbone which was compressing a nerve, was done on Thursday.

By doing it across the causeway, he saved about $6,500.

Mr Ali said he wanted the ease and comfort of being an A class patient without paying more here.

He is staying for five days in a single deluxe room at the JB hospital. His wife is also staying with him in the same room. It is air-conditioned, with an en-suite bathroom, a telephone and a flat-screen TV.

For his surgery, he will be charged $7,050. This includes the surgeon's fee, room stay and meals.

For an equivalent stay and single room in a restructured hospital in Singapore, he would have had to pay $13,500.

Said Mr Ali, 59, a father of two: "I was told that having it done in Malaysia would suit me as it would be cheaper.

"I had read in the newspapers that we can now use Medisave for medical treatment in Malaysia with Health Management International (HMI) and Parkway hospitals." (read more)

But Mr Ali had some reservations. He did not want to have to return to JB for follow-up checks and treatment.

HMI, which runs Regency Specialist Hospital, originally offered Mr Ali a Malaysian doctor.

He said: "I checked out the names of the specialists and asked if they had any Singapore doctors working there."

The hospital then referred him to Dr Liew Yow Ming, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Mount Alvernia Hospital who also has a practice at Regency Specialist Hospital.

He saw Dr Liew, who agreed to operate on him in JB but do the follow-up with him here in Singapore.

Best of both worlds

Mr Ali may have saved another $1,000 if he had opted for a Malaysian doctor. Accurate figures cannot be quoted because the cost depends on the Malaysian doctor. But he said: "I feel I have the best of both worlds."

His back problems started a few months ago. His left leg felt numb when he walked.

It became progressively worse over time, with both legs feeling numb when he walked.

Then his legs started feeling numb all the time.

He said: "It got so bad that after driving, I could not get out of the taxi immediately. I had to open the door, stand and then wait, shaking my legs to get the blood flow back, before I could walk."

He said he could not walk more than 100m before having to sit and rest.

"I went to see a polyclinic doctor who referred me to a doctor in Singapore General Hospital. I had all my scans done and the SGH doctor told me that I had a growth in the lumbar region, basically in my back, which was compressing my nerve," he said.

His weight was an issue. At 1.75m tall, he weighs 100kg.

Couldn't wait

"The doctor at first said if I cut down my weight, then I might not have this problem. But after the scan, he said I could not wait any more or my nerve would be damaged and then my legs would be badly affected. There could be permanent numbness," he said.

That was when he started considering the operation.

"I knew I wanted a single room and I wanted my wife to stay with me," he said.

He has $28,000 in his Medisave.

For his operation in JB, he can claim $5,150 from his Medisave. The rest he has to pay for himself as MediShield insurance cannot be claimed for treatment at overseas hospitals.

"I am paying only about $2,000 out of pocket. It's affordable for me and I get a more comfortable hospital stay," he said.

He was also pleased with HMI's door-to-door service. A car picked him and his wife up from their home in Woodlands and took them to Regency Specialist Hospital.

The car will also take them home when he is discharged. It costs $80 both ways.

"I will recuperate for two to three weeks before going back to work," he said.

Dr Liew has been practising in Malaysia for about five years. He sees patients at the Regency Specialist Hospital once or twice a week.

He received his accreditation to practise in Malaysia after he completed a three year part-time registration course with a Malaysian hospital.

Mr Ali is not the first Singapore patient he treated in Malaysia.

"I have had other patients who did not have Medisave or not enough Medisave. Treating them in Malaysia saves them money," he said.

His fees in Malaysia are typically 20 per cent less than what he charges in Singapore.

"The hospital fees are where the savings are for the patient," said Dr Liew.

When you can use your Medisave overseas

FROM 1 Mar, Singapore residents can use their Medisave to help pay for overseas hospitalisation. Before 1 Mar, they could do so only for emergency hospitalisation.

The move follows a dialogue between the Ministry of Health and NTUC union leaders, who had asked for Medisave use to be extended to elective hospitalisation overseas to give patients a wider choice and allow them to take advantage of the lower cost of hospitalisation overseas.

Certain conditions apply:

1. The patient can use Medisave only for hospitalisation and day surgery. It cannot be used for outpatient treatment.

2. The overseas hospital must have an approved working arrangement with a Medisave-accredited institution or referral centre in Singapore.

3. The patient must be referred through a Medisave-accredited institution/referral centre in Singapore.

4. The local centre must provide pre-admission clinical assessment and financial counselling to the patient.

The local centre will be accountable for patient satisfaction and the clinical outcome.

5. The scheme kicked off with two healthcare providers here: Health Management International (HMI) and Parkway Holdings. Other healthcare providers may be added later.

For Mr Ali's case, his Medisave processing was handled at the HMI referral centre which is linked to Medisave.

Said an HMI spokesman: "Obtaining Medisave approval can be a speedy process, as long as the patient has all of his or her documents in order and there are adequate funds in the patient's Medisave account.

"Once the patient has decided on the course of treatment in consultation with his or her specialist, the estimated time for a patient to get approval from start to finish can take less than an hour."

This article was first published in The New Paper.