Financially Prepared For Cancer

Nearly half of Singaporeans (43 per cent) who have never had cancer believed that they are not financially well-prepared to manage the disease if they are diagnosed with it. Almost one in three (32 per cent) also expressed concerns over the cost of cancer care, which may significantly affect their decisions about whether to delay or receive treatment.

Such concerns are not limited to those in lower-income groups but also extend to middle-income respondents. Around 1,200 respondents were surveyed online.Early survey data suggested that a significant share of Singapore resident households may feel under-prepared financially to cope with shocks such as cancer, and more specifically, are unclear of what cancer entails — from disease incidence to treatment costs and healthcare financing.

Leading Cause Of Death - Cancer was the leading cause of death in Singapore in 2022, making up 23.9 per cent of all 26,891 recorded deaths that year. The financial impact of cancer diagnosis can be significant, given the expenses in medical care settings on medications and procedures such as chemotherapy.

Indirect costs also contribute to “financial toxicity”. Such “toxicity” includes income loss experienced by the patient from cancer-related disabilities and by family members providing care.

In oncology practice, financial toxicity is used to describe the detrimental effects of the excess financial strain caused by the diagnosis of cancer on the well-being of patients, their families and society — and it is increasingly recognized to adversely affect a person’s quality of life.
Financial Toxicity may significantly affect their decisions about whether to delay or receive treatment.

Financial Prepared - Around half (47 per cent) of the respondents with no history of cancer felt financially prepared for a cancer diagnosis, with many (30 per cent) saying that they were “moderately” well-prepared for the disease

Conversely, around 42 per cent of the respondents believed that they would be ill-prepared, with 14 per cent of respondents perceiving that they are “not well at all” financially prepared for such a diagnosis

When asked how confident they were that their existing health or critical illness insurance policies, or both, would fully cover the cost of cancer treatment in the future, 43 per cent of the respondents said that they were slightly confident, while 29 per cent said that they had no confidence their insurance would be able to cover the full cost of treatment

Only 33 per cent of the 1,200 respondents were aware of the recent changes to the financing of outpatient cancer treatment based on the Ministry of Health’s Cancer Drug List, which had been announced before the survey

Respondents without critical illness insurance coverage said that unaffordable premiums was a key reason for not buying insurance policies. Respondents with insurance coverage may not be knowledgeable about their own insurance plans, specifically policy benefits, exclusions, co-payments and claim amounts

Respondents who perceived themselves as “highly financial literate” were less likely to anticipate delaying or foregoing cancer treatment due to cost concerns