I was wondering why their IPO was postponed and not called off (see the red box)
In 2014 I had a blog entry on the inevitability of medical inflation. Prices has been climbing since and the picture is clearer why. Imagine these TPA or Third Party Administrators take a "commission" (you aren't suppose to call it that but for all intent and purpose it is) of 15% in the case of Fullerton Health. This is a very good business and you should consider owning the stock!
If it is good for Fullerton it could be bad for doctors and patients as long as you are "captured" by their system and cannot easily go elsewhere. In other words there is effectively no competition to keep them honest in practice. Any competition is only on paper and for argument to defend their business practice.
MOH doesn't understand the mindset and craftiness of businesses Forget about transparency and disclosure. There are countless ways to do that and the patient is still as clueless as not given any information. With information asymmetry TPAs will be laughing all the way to the bank, no much different from banks selling over priced products to clueless retail clients. Now I don't care if you make obscene money from selling luxury goods or services but there must be some element of public service in healthcare. If profit maximization is the on primary or only motive you have no business to be in this business. MOH needs to watch and regulate this tightly.
In the coming days it would be truer that the health system might cure you only for you to die in debt.
References:
Singaporean doctors protest against administrative fees by third party administrators
Third party administrators speak out amidst concerns by Singaporean doctors over unfair practices
Or not
ReplyDeleteIts a bubble