NTUC Income, a Singapore-based insurance cooperative and DaVita, a US-based company which provides kidney dialysis across the US and in 9 countries worldwide, recently announced a joint venture (JV), DaVita Singapore, to operate kidney dialysis centres in Singapore. The dialysis centres operated by the JV will serve as Income’s preferred healthcare facilities, akin to its panel of private specialists.
 
The JV will also include NTUC Health, a social enterprise under NTUC, to leverage their position as a leading provider of health and eldercare services in Singapore. The JV is set to open two dialysis centres by mid-2019 and they will serve patients beyond IncomeShield policyholders.

What’s the trend

This collaboration between an insurer, healthcare provider and community care provider is a first in Singapore. According to National Kidney Foundation Singapore, the country currently ranks fourth in the world for prevalence of kidney failure and first for diabetes-induced kidney failure, a condition that becomes more prevalent as age progresses.

In Singapore, the average age of patients with kidney failure is above 60 years old. NTUC Health aims to complement the JV with its experience in keeping seniors healthy and helping them age in place through its strong network of active-ageing, home-care, senior day care, day rehabilitation and nursing home services.

On the record

“With this industry-first collaboration, Income goes beyond its role as payer to become an enabler in the healthcare ecosystem. Similar to medical panels which are known to be effective in calibrating and managing the fees of healthcare providers, NTUC Income aims to achieve more via a value-based and outcome-driven approach that will underpin our panel of healthcare facilities, starting with the dialysis centres.

Our latest effort is aligned with recommendations by the Health Insurance Task Force, which encourage all stakeholders in Singapore’s healthcare ecosystem to play a more active role in ensuring that healthcare and health insurance remain accessible and sustainable in Singapore”, said Mr Andrew Yeo, General Manager for Life & Health Insurance, NTUC Income in a statement.

Dr. Joseph Soon, President of Asia Pacific at DaVita International, said: “We are honoured to partner with Income and NTUC Health to provide world-class healthcare to patients in Singapore. Together, we share a commitment to provide differentiated care that is judged on the strength of its acknowledged clinical outcomes. We believe this value-based, outcome-led approach will bring benefits to patients while positively impact sustainable healthcare and health insurance in Singapore.