New York Times: What Makes Singapore’s Health Care So Cheap?
Aaron E. Carroll, professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine; and Austin Frakt, director of the Partnered Evidence-Based Policy Resource Center at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System, associate professor with Boston University’s School of Public Health, and adjunct associate professor with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

“Singapore’s health care system is distinctive, and not just because of the improbability that it’s admired by many on both the American left and the right. … [I]t spends far, far less than the United States does. Yet it achieves some outcomes Americans would find remarkable. … Singapore’s health system also has a mix of public and private health care delivery organizations. … What also sets Singapore apart, and what makes it beloved among many conservative policy analysts, is its reliance on health savings accounts. … The most frustrating part about Singapore is that, as an example, it’s easily misused by those who want to see their own health care systems change. Conservatives will point to the Medisave accounts and the emphasis on individual contributions, but ignore the heavy government involvement and regulation. Liberals will point to the public’s ability to hold down costs and achieve quality, but ignore the class system or the system’s reliance on individual decision-making…” (10/2).