Singapore's healthcare spending to become biggest in government's coffers

He assured Singaporeans that their basic healthcare needs will continue to be affordable, The Straits Times reported.

In 2025, the government has set aside SG$20.9 billion (US$15.6 billion) for health, second only to spending on defense, which has a budget of SG$23.4 billion.

Citing the trajectory of Government healthcare expenditure, which had gone up from SG$9 billion in 2015 to SG$18 billion in 204, he predicted that the figure could be close to SG$30 billion a year by 2030.

A lot of the money will go towards building more facilities, including new hospitals, nursing homes and community care centers, and for manpower costs. But a substantial portion will be spent on subsidies to keep costs down for patients.

However, to maintain a high-quality medical system, he said people will also have to share in the costs of better care, largely with insurance and their MediSave funds, he said.