Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Singapore, accounting for 1 in 3 deaths. Cardiovascular disease encompasses everything from heart palpitations to cardiac arrest and stroke, meaning treatment can range from simple, affordable medications to complex, expensive surgeries. Below, we break down the cost of cardiovascular treatments and surgeries by disease category and hospital type.
index
- average cost of treating ischemic heart disease
- cost of medication for heart disease
- average cost of treating cerebrovascular disease
- average cost of arrhythmia treatment
- how to pay for treatment
average cost of treating ischemic heart disease
The average bill for treatment of ischemic heart disease-related illnesses costs S$2,944 in a subsidized public ward, S$11,618 in a non-subsidized public ward, and S$24,149 in a private hospital. ischemic heart disease (also known as coronary artery disease) can lead to heart attacks, heart failure, chest pain, and cardiac arrest. Procedures for these disorders include everything from checking for chest pain to heart bypass surgery. Unsurprisingly, the cost of simple procedures, such as chest pain or high blood pressure treatment, is quite low, averaging less than S$700 in a subsidized public ward. however, complicated procedures such as heart attack treatment and bypass surgery can leave patients with bills in the thousands. for example, heart bypass surgery in a subsidized public ward has an average bill of S$6,966, and the average cost rises to S$75,398 in private hospitals.
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average bill size for the treatment of ischemic heart disease
cost of medications for heart disease
High blood pressure or high cholesterol is a risk factor or symptom of heart disease. therefore, your doctor may prescribe medications to treat these conditions to prevent your condition from getting worse. the average cost of generic drugs for hypertension (high blood pressure) ranges from S$0.26 per pill to S$0.46 per pill. Generic hypertension medications typically cost 75% less than brand-name medications, but are just as effective, making them a good option for patients on a budget. The most expensive types of high blood pressure medications are tablets that contain both calcium channel blockers and statins (eg, Caduet). These types of medications treat high blood pressure, heart pain, and low blood pressure. they have an average cost of between s$4.17 and s$4.65 per pill.
average cost of high blood pressure medications (per tablet/capsule/sachet)
Similarly, medications for hyperlipidemia (high blood cholesterol) are another form of treatment used to treat symptoms or reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease. the average price of generic drugs for hyperlipidemia ranges from S$2.70 to S$3.05 per pill. brand-name drugs cost an average of 1.4 times more than generic versions. Statin drugs, such as Crestor, are the most common type of cholesterol medication in Singapore. they are also the most expensive, averaging between s$3.93 and s$4.44 per pill. Fibrate medications, such as lipophene, are the cheapest type of cholesterol medication, averaging between S$1.41 and S$1.69 per pill. Fibrates are given to patients who cannot take statin drugs. Although they are less effective than statins at lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, they are better than most statins at raising HDL (good) cholesterol.
average cost of cholesterol medications (per tablet/capsule/sachet)
average cost of treating cerebrovascular disease
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The average bill for treatment of cerebrovascular disease costs S$2,764 in subsidized public wards, S$7,882 in non-subsidized public wards, and S$16,976 in private hospitals. the most common condition that is included in cerebrovascular disease is stroke. As expected, treatment will be more expensive if the stroke presents with complications or if there is comorbidity (stroke and other conditions that affect the patient at the same time). we found that the treatment of stroke with minor complications costs 31-36% more than the treatment of stroke without complications in public hospitals. however, this cost can increase by 80% if the complications end up being serious. the cost of treating a complicated stroke is even higher in private hospitals. for example, we found that treating a stroke with minor complications will cost patients 145% more than treating an uncomplicated stroke in the same hospitals.
mean peak size for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases
average cost of treating arrhythmias
The average cost to treat arrhythmias, such as irregular heartbeats and heart palpitations, is S$3,415 in subsidized public wards, S$13,744 in non-subsidized public wards, and S$16,279 in private hospitals. Routine treatment for heart palpitations and irregular heartbeats typically costs no more than S$2,400 at a public hospital. however, if your arrhythmia does not respond to traditional medication, treatment can be quite expensive. the median bill to treat an irregular heart rhythm by burning heart tissue costs S$5,959 in a subsidized public ward, S$25,132 in an unsubsidized ward, and S$28,660 in a private hospital.
mean peak size for arrhythmia & treatment of similar conditions
average cost of cardiovascular treatment per hospital ward
The average cost of treating an inpatient heart condition is S$2,929 in a subsidized public ward. non-subsidized public rooms cost 2.82 times more than subsidized public rooms. treatment in private hospitals costs twice as much as treatment in non-subsidized public wards and 5 times more than treatment in subsidized public wards. the average cost of routine outpatient surgery for the treatment or diagnosis of ischemic heart disease is S$3,922 in subsidized public wards. outpatient surgery in an unsubsidized public ward costs 2.25 times more, with a median bill of S$12,767.
how to pay for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases
Paying for cardiovascular disease treatment can become expensive, as heart conditions can become chronic and may require constant monitoring and medication. You can use a variety of ways to pay for your treatment. the first one is using medisave. You can withdraw up to S$450 per day for daily hospital charges and between S$250 and S$7,550 for inpatient and outpatient surgery. the amount you can withdraw for surgeries depends on the complexity of the procedure. then you can use your medishield life plan. covers up to S$700 per day for normal stays and S$1,200 for ICU stays per day.
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You can also use Integrated Shield plans, which are private health insurance supplements to MediShield Life. They are offered by a variety of insurers, but the benefits are fairly standard across the board and may provide full coverage (with the exception of deductible and coinsurance) for your hospital stay. this payment method can be beneficial for people who prefer to stay in b1 or private wards or hospitals. however, premiums will increase as you age, so you should always make sure you can afford your premiums before deciding on a plan. In addition, it is also recommended to buy a plan before developing any type of chronic heart-related condition, as it can fall into the category of a pre-existing condition. this may result in high premiums or coverage exclusions.
If the remaining bill is still too much for you, you can get additional help through medifund. Medifund acts as a government safety net for patients who are unable to pay the rest of their bills after using MediShield Life and MediSave. however, you should note that in order to receive assistance from medifund, you must have received treatment from a medifund-approved institution. In addition, you can also try to negotiate with the hospital if you have close to the required amount or see if you can pay in interest-free installments.
If you need to borrow money, then you may want to consider getting a personal loan. You should look for a loan that has low interest rates to lower the amount of interest you’ll pay over time. You should also make sure you only borrow from a licensed money lender to avoid paying predatory interest rates, hidden fees. You also won’t be subject to the potential harassment that often occurs with predatory lenders.
methodology
To find the average cost of cardiovascular disease treatment in Singapore, we look at the average bill size for the relevant procedures available. we broke down procedures by type of heart condition (ie, ischemic vs. cerebrovascular vs. cardiac abnormalities). We then look at the average bill size based on the type of hospital room to determine how the price changes between the types of medical facilities available to Synagoreans. Lastly, we also wanted to see how much drugs cost. taking medication is more common than undergoing open surgery, so we felt it would be relevant for Singaporeans who are experiencing symptoms but may not need surgery. Using data from the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore, we looked at available prices for high blood pressure and cholesterol medications and separated them into their various classes to find out how prices change by medication type.
Please note that the figures shown here are to be used for educational purposes and are subject to change. your treatment may end up costing more or less than the averages shown here depending on the specific treatment you need and your insurance.
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