The government of Singapore planned, built, and continues to develop and maintain the nation’s public health
care system. It also regulates both public and private health insurance in the country. The health care system is
administered by the Ministry of Health, which has responsibility for assessing health needs and for planning and
delivering services through networks of health and hospital facilities, day care centers, and nursing homes. The
ministry manages, plans for, and maintains staffing throughout the system and is also responsible for financing
policies and governance of the entire public health care system. Because Singapore is a very small nation-state,
there is little regional- or local-level funding or regulation; the national government takes on full responsibility
for the health system. Singapore offers universal health care coverage to citizens, with a financing system
anchored in the twin philosophies of individual responsibility and affordable health care for all.