Monday 19 August 2013

End-of-Life Medical Expenses

Came across an interesting study done in the US.  I think most people are worried about having enough money to support ourselves in the last few years before death. Given that medical advances have increased life expectancy of the average person in Singapore to 81.89, just behind Japan @ 82.59. Medical bills during the last 5 years of our existence on Earth has also increased over the years. I understand the study was done in the US but basic principles will remain constant in other parts of the world. 
In this article mentioned, The correlation between Income and Medical expenses(out of pocket, not covered by insurance) were studied for the last five years of a group of people. To be blunt, the study is questionable to say the least. However I do agree that insurance will not cover everything and we still need to prepare a sum aside for other expenses. 

From the article, the average comes to about US$39,000 for medical care in the final five years of life, or about US$7,800 a year. It also says the number varies greatly with income. How much different is our Medical expenses in Singapore? Last time i checked, medical expenses should be cheaper for those on government subsidy. It is very hard to gauge how this will translate to cost in Singapore. So after doing some research on my own came up with these numbers:


Procedure (Cost in USD) USA Singapore % Savings
Coronary Angiography 6,000 1,500 75%
Coronary Angioplasty 42,000 11,500 73%
Coronary Artery Bypass 55,000 13,000 76%
Hip Replacement 24,000 16,000 33%
source: http://www.expatmedicare.com/healthcare-singapore-expats-guide

Surgery in Singapore seems to be significantly cheaper than US. For my own sake, i will just take worst case scenario and say S$50,000 average for last 5 years of life or S$10,000/yr now, or in 50 years time (if i live that long) at 5% inflation rate: it will cost S$114,674/yr or S$573,369 over the last 5 years of my life if i live till 80. Of course this calculation is riddled with uncertainties and variables, but roughly i guess one should set aside 1/2 Million bucks. damn! Now that is something to worry about.

Here is the weblink of original article.

1 comment:

  1. Whenever you are living in today's society, currently there are several unpredictable incidents that could possibly occur and injure you badly and will certainly consider your net medical expenses.

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