What Does Medical Fee Mean to You?

Alexandra Hospital (AH) is revising its fee for some services – its first fee increase in six years (source: The StraitsTimes, October 30, 2006).

In this year, it seems that the price of things gets increased. Medical fee is not an exception. This will add up to our expense.

From my point of view, I am very worried of medical fee. Oh ya, the medical fee is also called Hospitalization & Surgery (H&S) fee. It's very to the point. It means the expense you need to pay for staying up in hospital due to illness/surgery and for the surgery itself.

Why am I very worried about this fee? It's not that I am very pessimistic in life, but rather we can't predict what will happen to us in future, or even minutes after I posted this article. Don't you think so? Well, some people will say “Oh, I am leading a good and healthy style. I do exercise, eat healthy food, etc. So, I will be fine in the future”. Well, that's fair enough in the sense that there is no effect without cause. But can you guarantee it? Who can guarantee what will happen to us in the future? That's the first reason.

The second reason is that medical fee is unpredictable yet surprising. Why do I say that? Well, isn't it true that once you step into hospital, the medical fee is counting and once you look at the bill, you will be surprised. Digits of number will scare you off. It's not that I am trying to scare you off. But it happened to most people. Then, you will have this thought “what do I do such that I deserve this?”, “who is going to pay the bill”, “do I have enough money to clear the bill”, etc. I am sure you know the answers.

The third reason is that it will eat up the wealth that we have built up. I mean we have worked hard in our life, accumulating weatlh. However this medical fee can disturb our wealth accumulation. It even can finish up our wealth. That's scary, isn't it? Besides, it may become a burden to relatives and friends financially.

Well, based on the reasons mentioned above, I believe that we need something that can protect and support us when this thing falls. That's where the insurance come in. Well, it's not that I am trying to sell insurance policies. Instead, I am trying to share my experience and knowledge in this, though I am not an insurance agent or financial adviser.

In the next posting, I will share my experience on this. I will flash back on what I think and what I am before and after I get my medical & health insurance. Please come back here and check it out.

to be continued >>