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The Straits Times www.straitstimes.com Published on Jan 29, 2011 http://www.straitstimes.com/print/ST...ry_629462.html THE CASE Worker served with $147,000 C-class bill I HAD an accident at work last June. Initially, the interim hospital bill from the National University Hospital indicated a subsidy. But when the final bill was given to me, I was shocked. The bill for my stay at a C-class ward amounted to an unsubsidised total of $147,000. I was discharged on Aug 13 last year and the reason for the difference between what was stated in the interim bill and the final one was not explained at all. Only after I asked was I told that the Ministry of Health had withdrawn the subsidy as the accident was work- related. About a month after my discharge, I applied for a waiver of the outstanding amount of about $122,000 through my MP. This was after my company had paid $25,000. As far as I am aware, the hospital did not reply to the appeal. Three months later, after more deductions from my MediShield ($41,000) and Medisave accounts ($31,000), I was informed that the hospital was in the process of scheduling an instalment payment plan for the remaining $50,000. Needless to say, my family and I are plagued by anxiety. I am 54 years old and work in the construction sector; my wife works part-time and my daughters are still in their teens. How can an average Singaporean worker like me support a family, pay off a huge hospital bill and still find more money to pay for subsequent medical requirements arising from the accident and treatment? If I had been given a subsidy, I would not have been burdened by this unexpectedly trying financial circumstances. Tan Guan Seng