The last couple of weeks zoomed past in a whirlwind. Besides a packed work schedule, the Mrs and I also had to shuttle to the hospital almost daily to visit my MIL.
My MIL is a kidney transplant patient and after almost two decades, the transplanted kidney is past its use-by date. She was admitted to hospital and had to undergo a few rounds of dialysis before she could be discharged.
Here’s some observations/lessons gleaned from this episode:
1. Prevention > Early Detection > Late Intervention
I did not know much about kidney failure until very recently.
Apparently, the two main causes of kidney failure are diabetes and unchecked high blood pressure. My MIL falls in the latter category.
She was on medication for high blood pressure more than two decades ago. However, she often lapsed on her dosage as she didn’t want to be dependent on medication for the rest of her life. This decision proved to be a folly as it culminated in End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
Fear is a very strong emotion. On that front, I can actually empathise with both my mother and MIL for not detecting their medical problem or seeking treatment early.
However, both the Mrs and I have decided not to give in to this fear. Our parents’ medical history means we could be predisposed to cancer and kidney failure. Therefore, even though we are still in our early thirties, we do a comprehensive health check-up once every two years. The frequency would probably increase to once a year by the time we turn 40.
And if we were to experience any form of chronic discomfort, we would not hesitate to see a doctor or specialist. After all, kidney damage, especially in the early stages can easily be controlled with proper medication and diet.
2. Hospitalisation Expenses Are Manageable
My MIL was hospitalised for exactly a week. Alot of tests were conducted and she also had about four rounds of dialysis sessions in the hospital.
Therefore, all of us anticipated the bill to be at least a 5 digit future. So we were pleasantly surprised when the final bill came up to less than $4,000.
I am not sure if this is anecdotal, but over the past decade, I have seen three separate episodes of hospitalisation which involved the Mrs, my MIL and my mother. They were for relatively serious issues with many scans and invasive procedures performed.
However, every time, the medical bill surprised on the downside.
Perhaps it’s because they were all admitted as B2 patients. Coincidentally, all three times, they were at least upgraded to an air-conditioned B1 ward eventually.
3. Outpatient Expenses Can Be Demanding
There’s a reason why NKF managed to attract so much donations in its heyday. That’s because kidney failure is a chronic disease and regular treatments can really add up.
Most ESRD patients need to undergo dialysis thrice a week, and each treatment in a private care centre costs approximately $200. Assuming 12 times a month, that’s a hefty $2,400 a month.
MediShield Life helps to offset the medical expenses by $1,000 and patients can also use up to $400 from their CPF Medisave Account. This also means the patients and their family have to cough up at least $1,000 in cash every month just for the dialysis sessions.
4. The Need For Financial Buffer
In all likelihood, my in-laws will have more than sufficient savings for their medical and retirement needs. It’s a result from 40 years of hard work and employment.
Cue NTUC Income’s viral commercial.
This really helps to mitigate the financial stress for all in the family.
Nonetheless, both the Mrs and I acknowledge that it’s not a pleasant experience to see your savings deplete quickly, especially from healthcare costs. Therefore, the Mrs has told my MIL that we would shoulder a big part of the cost of her dialysis treatment.
Since we cannot help to share the physical discomfort from her treatment, the ;east we could do is to provide more financial support.
After all, it’s not that demanding for us too since we ourselves also do have quite a bit of financial buffer!
Becoming more monk-like should also help.
Sorry to hear about your MIL’s discomfort and current troubles. Healthcare is certainly one that ‘scares’ me, things can happen very unexpectedly and can quickly come up to a lot even before you process what is happening to your body! A buffer certainly makes sense and that is also why private insurances do well, playing on this fear which is not irrational. As a household, we spend a bomb on our annual insurance. Hurts every year yet we still don’t cancel it!