Have you ever thought about what would happen to your financial situation if you were to become critically ill?
Being sick can be expensive. Even a mild cold requires you to make purchases—pain relievers, heating pads, tissues—and spend time resting in bed. It feels like a waste of money because there are more important things you could do with your money and leisure time.
But how worse can it be when we consider more serious illnesses, such as heart attack, stroke, or cancer, etc.? You can’t help but feel a sense of urgency. While these thoughts are scary, they can also be worrisome because they lead to financial stress.
Unfortunately, Singaporeans have a high mortality rate from life-threatening conditions like cancer, heart, and cerebrovascular diseases. How much money do you have saved to cover lost wages, medical bills and the cost of living? If a cancer diagnosis or other debilitating illness strikes, how will you pay the bills? It’s frightening, Many people have no savings and can’t get a loan and find themselves in a financial crisis.
Till the time we get sick, we all assume that everything will be alright. But, when we do get sick, it changes our approach towards life and all those things that we had taken for granted until then. Sometimes life throws us a curveball and illness strikes down on us unexpectedly. Then, life becomes really tough and so does the finances. The medical bills can add up to a huge amount which is not easy to pay off.
Realistically speaking, a typical Singaporean family with an average annual income of $ 54,000 won’t find it easy to pay for treatment if a family member is struck with a critical illness, especially if the one afflicted is the breadwinner.So it’s always good to have some sort of financial security in case you are stricken by any illness.
Critical Illness Treatment Costs
Health care costs are consuming more and more of people’s salaries. And when it comes to critical illness – it may be a stroke, heart attack, cancer or other life-threatening diseases, the situation becomes even worse.
Let’s face it. Being hospitalized and receiving medical treatment is costly. If you’re unprepared, all the bills and expenses can drain your savings in a flash and may leave you with debt.
For cerebrovascular diseases, the average treatment cost can range from $9,000-$24,000, excluding the medication and hospital stay.
Cancer is another thing. It requires a lot of tests such as biopsy, blood tests, MRI, CT scans, health screenings, and etc. According to Smartwealth (2021), The cost of late-stage cancer treatments in Singapore can run from $100,000- $200,000 annually ($8,400 to $16,700 monthly). While heart disease surgery like coronary artery bypass can cost $20,000-$40,000.
When you have a critical illness, it’s important to understand what may be involved in your recovery. This can include rehabilitation that requires costly post-surgery care and purchasing of necessary items to give comfort and assistance..
Moreover, having critical illness often means being unable to work for long periods of time. Your medical bills will quickly spiral out of control, and you may have to take months or years off work. This means losing out on income and taking a big hit on your salary while you recover.
Having enough of a financial cushion to cover expenses makes a health crisis less burdensome. A financial plan with reserves can protect you from the unforeseen.
Critical Illness Insurance
Having critical illness insurance saves you from this devastating situation. It provides you financial protection against the high cost of your critical illness treatment.
However, only 15% of Singaporeans have critical illness insurance, and more than 85% are still not covered. This means that a lot of people might fall into really tough situations if their expensive-to-treat illnesses strike. Having one of such illnesses can not just ruin your life but also put a lot of financial strain on you. So if you have such an illness or even suspect that there is something wrong with your health, it is extremely important that you get yourself a critical illness insurance as soon as possible.
Being Prepared
To avoid being caught off guard at the worst possible moment, you must be equipped with both preventive and anticipatory measures. After all, you never can tell when the unexpected will occur, and if it does, you want to be ready for it. Although it’s impossible to predict what will happen, you can take steps to prepare for the worst. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the best way to avoid developing a serious illness. This calls for a higher intake of vegetables and more active engagement to physical exercise. Nonetheless, this does not imply that you should ignore the possibility of becoming ill in the future. Even if you’re in relatively good health, you must never become complacent about your situation. It’s impossible to predict what will happen, and that includes having a disease.