In a recent development stirring public discourse, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung expressed dismay over a healthcare company’s staggering S$52,188 monthly bid for a clinic situated in an HDB estate in Tampines.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS :
- I-Health Medical Holdings bid S$52,188 monthly for a Tampines clinic, the highest per-square-foot rent for similar clinics, raising concerns over healthcare affordability.
- MOH and HDB are transitioning towards a Price-Quality Evaluation Model (PQM), emphasizing quality of care (70%) over rental costs (30%) in tender assessments for clinics.
- I-Health co-owner Mr. Andrew Chim reassured that patients’ consultation fees would remain standard, asserting that rent does not influence patient charges and highlighting their confidence in the clinic’s return on investment.
The bid, made by I-Health Medical Holdings for a ground-floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96, has raised questions about healthcare costs and the implications of high rental bids on community healthcare affordability.
In a Facebook post on June 4, Minister Ong highlighted his concern: “This must translate to higher cost of healthcare one way or another, and negate the effort of (the) Ministry of Health (MOH) to try to keep the cost of primary healthcare affordable. More importantly, higher rental bids do not necessarily translate to the best healthcare that the community needs.”
The successful bid, which works out to over S$1,000 per square meter, attracted significant attention given that recent winning bids for similar clinics ranged from S$4,200 to S$40,088, excluding I-Health’s record bid.
The second-highest bid in 2025 was S$40,088 at Tengah Garden Walk, with other recent bids including S$25,388 at Tampines Street 64, S$25,900 at Champions Way, and S$16,800 at Telok Blangah Heights.
HDB clarified that the Tampines clinic was tendered in December 2024 and awarded in March 2025, prior to the introduction of the new Price-Quality Evaluation Model (PQM) by MOH and HDB. This model emphasizes quality of care, accounting for 70% of tender evaluation, with rental costs comprising only 30%.
The unit, about 100 sq m—twice the size of typical clinics—aims to accommodate multi-disciplinary care and innovative health models, including preventive care, chronic disease management, and mental health services.
Minister Ong noted that the Bartley Beacon tender, closed on May 29, received promising proposals with bids significantly below the Tampines site on a per-square-meter basis.
Moving forward, the PQM approach will become the norm for tendering GP clinics in HDB heartlands, signaling a shift towards prioritizing care quality over rental costs to improve primary healthcare affordability.
HDB responded to media inquiries, stating that the S$52,188 bid is substantially higher than the average S$9,800 per month for similar-sized clinics in 2024 and is the highest per-square-foot rent received for GP and dental clinics of this size. They emphasized that all tenders are based solely on tendered prices, and market factors influence bid amounts. Importantly, this bid does not set a precedent for future rentals or impact existing clinic rents.
Healthcare provider I-Health Medical Holdings, co-owned by Mr. Andrew Chim, defended the bid, emphasizing that the rental cost does not influence consultation fees.
In an interview with CNA, Mr. Chim assured that patients would pay no more than standard rates for consultations and medication. “Rent is not commensurate with (consultation) fee,” he said, adding that the total bills for treatments would be comparable to other heartland clinics.
Mr. Chim expressed satisfaction with the bid, stating, “There was a number that even if HDB does not reduce the rent after three years, we will be very happy with what we get back in terms of the returns on the clinic.”
He also highlighted previous bids, including a failed attempt in Tampines North at S$39,938 in January last year, and believed their current unit is 10-20% better than similar offerings at Tengah Garden Walk and Tampines North.
Image via reddit
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