NTUC healthcare offers 5% discount on prescription and pharmacy-only medicine to help Singaporeans defray medical expenses during this economic downturn
22 June 2009
Media Release
1 Singaporeans can look forward to spending less on prescription and pharmacy-only medicine at NTUC Healthcare’s Unity pharmacies from 1 July to 31 December 2009, as the social enterprise does its part to help them defray their medical expenses, especially during this economic downturn.
2 Announcing a 5% discount on all prescription and pharmacy-only medicine purchases for a six-month period, Mr Chua Cher Choon, Chairman of NTUC Healthcare said, “Medication is a necessary expenditure when we fall sick. We can ill afford not to take our medicine if we want to recover. Yet, we must be able to afford to pay for our medicine. Thus, as a socially responsible enterprise, NTUC Healthcare remains committed, especially during this period of economic difficulty, to enhancing the affordability of medicine and helping Singaporeans stretch their dollar and reduce their expenses on much needed medicine.”
3 As one of the Labour Movement’s 12 social enterprises, NTUC Healthcare is not immune to the impact of the economic downturn on businesses. Yet, it continues to fulfil its social mission of moderating healthcare costs in Singapore by providing quality and affordable healthcare products and services at its 46 Unity pharmacies, 13 NTUC Denticare, five NTUC Medicare and three Traditional Chinese Medicine clinics. For example, NTUC Healthcare absorbed the 2% increase, from 5% to 7%, in the Goods and Services Tax in 2007 for a period of six months to help soften the impact of the tax increase on Singaporeans. Currently, it has made available for senior citizens 5% discount every Tuesday and a basket of 200 commonly-used items that are priced more than 10% lower than competitors at its Unity pharmacies. Additionally, NTUC members enjoy twice the amount of LinkPoints on a minimum of $30 purchase at its Unity pharmacies every Thursday.
4 NTUC Healthcare’s latest 5% discount offering is yet another of its efforts in helping Singaporeans stretch their dollar and Upturn the Downturn by keeping costs of medicine affordable and wherever possible, lower for them. This discount is applicable at the point of sale for prescription and pharmacy-only medicine sold at its Unity pharmacies, which are widely distributed across Singapore.
5 Explaining the rationale for giving a 5% discount on prescription and pharmacy-only medicine, Mrs Chan Yiam Moi, General Manager of NTUC Healthcare (Retail) said, “We generally see that more Singaporeans are choosing to purchase their prescribed medicine not just from their doctors but also from our pharmacies because of factors like price and convenience of purchases. At the same time, as Singaporeans become more affluent and knowledgeable on health issues, more are practising responsible self-medication and choose to approach our pharmacists for advice and medication. Thus, we believe that the 5% discount would go a long way in helping them save more on their medical expenses.”
