Subsidised or Private Charges?
According to guidelines by the Ministry of Health, there are two patient classifications:

You are a subsidised patient if your first visit is via:

• Referral letter from a restructured hospital under subsidised status, polyclinic, SAF or General Practitioner (Patient has to be a CHAS cardholder) participating in CHAS without specifying a specialist by name.
  
  
• Discharge from inpatient subsidised class ward without specifying a specialist by name.

Subsidy is only applicable for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, who are not existing private patients for the same medical condition.

If you are a subsidised patient, you will be attended to by a team of doctors, supervised by a consultant. Together they will provide the level of care most appropriate to your medical needs. The doctor attending to you may change at each visit. Should you request for a preferred doctor, you may do so with the understanding that charges would be as per the private patient classification.

You are a private patient if your first visit is via:

• Self-referral
• Referral letter from a General Practitioner (GP).
• Referral from a Private Hospital.
• Referral letter from a restructured hospital under private status and / or specifying a consultant by name.
• Referral letter from a Polyclinic and specifying a consultant by name.
• Discharge from inpatient paying class ward.

All foreign residents and non-residents belong to the private patient classification