In today's society, I noticed a huge disparity between what we know and how we act.
Below are some typical examples:
1 (a) What we know
Eat less spicy, salty or sweet food so we can lead a healthy life.
1 (b) What we do
Go for Macdonald's prosperity meal (back then), finished up the pie and probably hit the ice-cream parlour for dessert. Next day, go for local delights like Char Kway Teow and Rochor beancurd.
2 (a) What we know
Hit 10,000 steps every day (and get the extra vouchers) or stretch daily to keep the body in shape.
2 (b) What we do
Sleep in till the biological clock wakes up, hit the snooze button or wait for the kids to jump on us as it's Home-Based Learning now.
And the list goes on...
Honestly, I'm just like most of you and I do fall into those traps that I mentioned above.
Yet, what shocked me today was during a Zoom webinar with a friend.
She shared with me that her dad was having a Stage 4 cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
For the first 12 weeks, the family member will have 1 treatment every 3 weeks. The cost is $52,000 for the full 12 weeks.
Subsequently, the family member will need treatment every 2 weeks. That treatment will cost $8,000 each time. This adds up to $16,000/ month.
This means that it will cost the family...
$52,000 (first 3 months) + $16,000 x 9 (for next 9 months) = $196,000
Within the first year!
This is not inclusive of any additional medication, consultation fees and surgery costs.
And not forgetting usually such treatments last for a few years.
If you are wondering if that is the cost of a private hospital, the answer is no. This is the cost of a local public hospital!
Here's another source which states a similar range for such cancer treatment.
You can read more about their post here.
The first question that comes to mind is, does the family member has insurance?
Thankfully, the family member has a hospitalization plan. However, there is no rider attached to it.
This means that there will still be some co-payment required. The good news is the bulk of the medical bill is offset by the insurer.
The second question is, can use the family member use Medisave for the full payment?
As above, the cancer treatment withdrawal limit from Medisave is $600/ year.
My friend is like most of us.
She is tied up with work and her hectic schedule hasn't given her much breathing room to look into insurance. Insurance has always been on her mind for a few years but hasn't got the time to look into it.
Until this situation hits...
TL;DR
My goal is not to scare you, but to share with you that we know the importance of many things. The question is, what are we doing with the knowledge?
Because eating those spicy, salty and sweet food will cost you your health. It may not be now, but the disease will catch up soon enough.
Not exercising daily won't give you any issues at this juncture. But when you grow older, you will start to see the drawbacks of not keeping an active lifestyle.
And if insurance has always been something you want to look into, but you haven't got time to look into it, NOW is probably the best time to review.
Because I'm quite certain that down the road, it will really save you and your family the financial burden and unnecessary pressures.
If not now, then when?
Hopefully, this article is a timely reminder for you. Because sometimes seeing is believing.
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