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Some Singapore permanent residents are choosing to have their babies delivered across the Causeway, following the liberalisation of Medisave rules in March.
Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) can now use their Medisave to pay for hospitalisation and day surgery treatment in 12 hospitals in Malaysia.
A check with Health Management International (HMI) and Parkway Holdings, the only two healthcare groups in Singapore accredited to refer patients to Malaysia, shows that many of their patients sought obstetrics treatment.
To date, HMI has had 23 Medisave patients seeking medical treatment at its two hospitals in Malaysia – the Regency Specialist Hospital in Johor Baru and Mahkota Medical Centre in Malacca.
Of these, 15 have sought obstetrics treatment.
Nine have already given birth and six are waiting to deliver.
While only four out of the 16 cases referred to Parkway Holdings’ hospitals are related to births, the majority of the queries received were about obstetrics procedures, said a spokesman.
Others sought treatment for procedures such as coronary angiogram, cataracts, total knee replacement and total hip replacement.
Parkway Holdings owns Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur and nine Pantai group hospitals in places such as Klang, Ipoh and Penang.
 The loosening of the Medisave laws came at a good time for sales manager Chan Siew Chin, 31.
She had already planned to deliver her baby in Malaysia.
“The liberalisation is a good initiative as it gives Singaporeans and PRs more options to use their Medisave abroad and save money,” she said.
“With Medisave, patients can also pay less in cash,” said Ms Chan, a Singapore PR who gave birth to a girl – her first child – last month atMahkota Medical Centre. She is married to a sales and marketing manager, also a PR.
Patients who seek medical treatment in Malaysia can expect savings of up to 50 per cent, said an HMI spokesman.
It costs about $2,500 for a caesarean operation in Mahkota compared to $4,500 to $6,000 in a Singapore restructured hospital, or $8,000 in a private hospital.
These prices are based on an exchange rate of RM2.40 to S$1.
Singapore General Hospital’s top-tier room, its upgraded ward class A1+, starts from $348.82 a day. A suite at Regency Specialist Hospital is $146.
A Ministry of Health spokesman said 17 people have made Medisave claims approved by the CPF board, amounting to $40,000.
The cost savings may be significant but patients have to be prepared for the downside.
Ms Chan’s baby had to be hospitalised a week after delivery for jaundice, but she was unable to claim Medisave overseas at the point of admission for her newborn.
This is because the Singapore Ministry of Health Medisave for Approved Overseas Hospitalisation rules state that the patient must be referred through a Singapore-accredited referral centre.
She had to return to Singapore for the necessary documentation, which was not possible as she was in confinement. She eventually paid RM700 in cash for her daughter’sone-night hospital stay.
Because the mothers-to-be are originally from Malaysia, most already know which doctors or hospitals to go to through referrals from friends. For those who do not, the referral centres will make recommendations.
The mothers-to-be will then go to Malaysia at least two weeks before their due date to settle in, see the doctor and get a check-up.
The referral centres will help prepare the patient records and Medisave documents for the patients to take up to Malaysia.
Parents who want their newborns to be Singapore citizens will also have to bear a bit of inconvenience by visiting the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur or the Singapore Consulate-General in Johor Baru to register the birth of their babies.
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