I thought of yowetan when I read this article.
http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/E...till-realistic?
NUS professor's poser at roundtable discussion on ageing at home
by Ashley Chia
04:46 AM Oct 10, 2012
SINGAPORE - With more Singaporeans choosing to stay single or not have children, is the Government's emphasis on the three-generation family as social support for eldercare still realistic?
This was one of the points raised by Associate Professor Paulin Straughan from the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Sociology, at a roundtable discussion yesterday on ageing at home organised by the NUS.
In a presentation before the discussion, Assoc Prof Straughan said that the ideology of the three-generational family support system is "no longer functional" and "moralising" eldercare has made the elderly "so afraid" of seeking help, as it would be acknowledging that their children have failed them.
The shrinking family nucleus will also be a "tremendous burden" in terms of finance, as it is not possible to take care of four parents and grow your own family at the same time, she added.
"By the time you drain your Medisave, who will look after you? It becomes an inter-generational transfer of problems because when you empty out your Medisave, your children will then have to be prepared to look after you and then it becomes a non-stop cascading kind of issue," said Assoc Prof Straughan, a former Nominated Member of Parliament.
For those aged 65 years and above, the Government could provide free healthcare and do away with means testing, she suggested.
This way the Government would know "upfront that it has to look after 20 per cent of the population and can plan the infrastructure" and that no one will "outplay" the system as everyone is eligible, she said, adding she was speaking "naively" as she is not trained in economics.
Members of Parliament (MP) TODAY spoke to were cautious about her suggestions, with Dr Chia Shi-Lu (Tanjong Pagar GRC) saying that free healthcare was "ideal" but not feasible with the current tax system and without burdening the healthcare system.
In his 20 years of practising medicine he has not come across anyone who has been refused treatment because they could not afford it, he said, adding: "We can also agree that the younger generation is willing to pay the bill for their parents."
Freeing up the system will also open the system to abuse and leave the Government with an "astronomical" bill, Dr Chia said. He also noted that the extent of the cost burden would also be less of an issue in future as most individuals above 45 would have health insurance, unlike the elderly now.
Associate Professor Phua Kai Hong from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, who chaired the NUS discussion, felt removing means testing "doesn't make sense".
"Some old people are rich, why have a blanket criteria," Dr Phua said. "I don't see why age should be used as a criteria, it should be differed by needs."
He suggested that the Government increase medical subsidies and payment to be on par with inflation rates.
Chua Chu Kang MP Zaqy Mohamad thought Assoc Prof Straughan's suggestions were "reasonable", but felt means testing should not be scrapped but "tweaked" instead.
"Perhaps the system should look at the immediate spouse or household income instead of at the whole family. You don't want to have to deplete your children's savings before they are retired," he said.
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