Slipped Disc Surgery Cost in Singapore (2026)

Surgery for a slipped (herniated) disc in Singapore is priced by procedure, and the Ministry of Health (MOH) publishes more of the numbers than most people realise: what surgeons typically charge, what patients actually paid, and how much MediSave and MediShield Life pay towards it. This guide brings those published figures together, each with its source and date, so you can check a quote before you agree to it.

Whether you need an operation at all is a clinical decision. Our herniated disc guide explains the symptoms and the treatment options.

Doctors’ fees: MOH’s benchmarks

MOH publishes fee benchmarks for private-sector doctors, procedure by procedure. They are a reference range for a reasonable fee, not a cap. The surgeon’s benchmark covers the whole operation, including the assistant doctors and nurses. MOH has not published an anaesthetist’s benchmark for the back operations.

Procedure	MOH code	Surgeon’s fee	Anaesthetist’s fee	MediSave table
Back (not neck): discectomy or decompression, 1 level	SB723S	S$10,682 – S$13,843	Not published	6A
Back (not neck): 2 or more levels	SB722S	S$13,080 – S$17,113	Not published	6B
Neck: discectomy with fusion or disc replacement, 1 level	SB803C	S$14,497 – S$19,620	S$3,052 – S$4,033	6A
Neck: 2 levels	SB802C	S$15,260 – S$19,838	S$3,597 – S$4,687	6B

Source: MOH, Hospital Bills and Fee Benchmarks (surgeon and anaesthetist fee benchmarks as of 1 June 2026). Figures include GST, as shown on MOH’s procedure pages. MOH’s benchmark tables list them before GST, for example S$9,800 – S$12,700 for SB723S.

What patients actually paid

MOH also publishes the total bills patients paid for each procedure. These are whole-bill figures, including GST, before any insurance or MediSave.

Procedure	MOH code	Median bill	Middle half of bills
Back (not neck), 1 level	SB723S	S$42,015	S$36,385 – S$47,397
Back (not neck), 2 or more levels	SB722S	S$53,742	S$41,836 – S$58,092
Neck, 1 level	SB803C	S$57,352	S$51,228 – S$66,684
Neck, 2 levels	SB802C	S$65,229	S$59,034 – S$71,197

Source: MOH hospital bill sizes, inpatient stays at private hospitals, for Singapore Citizens discharged between 1 January and 31 December 2023. The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.

For comparison, the same single-level back operation (SB723S) in a public hospital had a median bill of S$4,889 as subsidised day surgery, S$5,958 in a B2 ward and S$5,232 in a C ward. Unsubsidised, the median was S$18,134 in a B1 ward and S$22,525 in an A ward (MOH, 2023 bills).

Hospital by hospital

For the single-level back operation (SB723S), here is what the figures show for each private hospital. The two columns come from different sources, so they are not directly comparable. MOH’s are actual 2023 bills for a single room. The hospitals’ own estimates come from their historical data, with no date given, and assume one day in a standard room.

Hospital	MOH median bill, 2023 (single room, average stay)	Hospital’s own estimate (median / 75th percentile)
Farrer Park Hospital	S$44,219 (2.1 days)	Not published
Gleneagles Hospital	S$41,418 (1.8 days)	Listed in its online estimator, but no estimate returned
Mount Elizabeth Hospital	S$43,285 (1.5 days)	S$49,750 / S$58,221
Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital	S$42,908 (1.8 days)	S$52,244 / S$56,518

Sources: MOH hospital bill sizes (2023 bills, Singapore Citizens). Mount Elizabeth and Mount Elizabeth Novena hospital bill estimators, checked 26 September 2026 and rounded here to the nearest dollar. Parkway East Hospital has no published figures for this operation.

Room charges alone, per day including GST: a single room is S$850 at Mount Elizabeth and Mount Elizabeth Novena, S$780 at Gleneagles and Parkway East, and S$810 (standard single) at Farrer Park. A 4-bedded room is S$309 at Mount Elizabeth, S$290 at Gleneagles and Farrer Park, and S$271 at Parkway East. The hospitals charge daily treatment fees on top. (Room rates as published by Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles and Parkway East as of 1 July 2026, and by Farrer Park as of 1 June 2026.)

What MediSave pays

MediSave can pay towards the bill up to two limits added together:

• A surgical limit set by the procedure’s table, which covers the surgeon’s, anaesthetist’s and facility fees: S$3,260 for table 6A (SB723S and SB803C) and S$3,610 for table 6B (SB722S and SB802C).
• A daily limit for ward charges: up to S$1,130 a day for the first two days of an inpatient stay and S$400 a day after that, or up to S$830 a day for day surgery.

For example, for SB723S with a two-day inpatient stay, the most MediSave can pay is S$3,260 plus 2 × S$1,130, which is S$5,520.

Sources: CPF, MediSave Withdrawal Limits (1 April 2025 edition), repeated on MOH’s MediSave inpatient-care page (updated 27 August 2026).

What MediShield Life pays

MediShield Life, the national basic health insurance, has its own limits for this operation:

• A surgical claim limit of S$3,540 for table 6 procedures, which includes all four codes above.
• Normal ward charges up to S$830 a day, plus an extra S$800 a day for the first two days.
• Up to S$7,000 per treatment for implants, which matters for neck fusion or disc replacement.

Before it pays, you pay a deductible: S$3,500 for a private hospital or Class A ward if you are 80 or younger, or S$1,500 for day surgery. You then pay a share of the rest: 10% of the first S$5,000 (including the deductible), 5% of the next S$5,000 and 3% above that. MediShield Life is designed for subsidised B2 and C ward bills, so claims on private hospital bills are pro-rated.

Sources: MOH, MediShield Life benefits (claim limits for admissions from 1 June 2026) and MOH, How to make a MediShield Life claim (deductibles and co-insurance).

If you have an Integrated Shield Plan

With an Integrated Shield Plan (IP), and perhaps a rider, three things decide how much of the bill you pay yourself.

• The rider rules changed on 1 April 2026. New riders sold from that date can no longer cover the minimum IP deductible, which MOH sets at S$3,500 for a private hospital or Class A ward. The yearly cap on your co-payments, not counting the deductible, rose to at least S$6,000, and applies only to eligible claims such as panel or pre-authorised claims. The minimum 5% co-payment is unchanged. Anyone who bought an older rider from 27 November 2025 moves to a new one by their first renewal after 1 April 2028.
• Panel or not. Insurers charge different co-payments depending on whether your specialist is on their panel. For example, Income’s Optima Care Rider has a 5% co-payment capped at S$6,000 a year with a panel specialist, 8% capped at S$6,000 with its extended panel, and 8% with no cap otherwise. Great Eastern’s GREAT TotalCare 2 applies its S$6,000 co-payment cap at restructured hospitals or with a panel provider.
• Pre-authorisation. Asking your insurer to confirm cover and estimate the cost before admission is not compulsory, but it is highly recommended. Not every insurer offers it: Income and Singlife don’t, although Singlife issues a Pre-Admission Letter.

Sources: MOH press release on IP riders (26 November 2025). Income, Optima Care Rider policy conditions (1 April 2026). Great Eastern, GREAT TotalCare 2. Havend, Integrated Shield claims FAQ (updated 3 October 2024) and its IP claims questions and answers (updated 27 October 2025).

Coming from overseas

MOH’s bill figures above are for Singapore Citizens, and MediShield Life covers only citizens and permanent residents. The private hospitals estimate the full bill when you are admitted and ask for a deposit, with a further deposit if the charges exceed it. None of them publishes a deposit amount.

• The IHH hospitals (Mount Elizabeth, Mount Elizabeth Novena, Gleneagles and Parkway East) say you may pay in major foreign currencies. They accept insurers’ Letters of Guarantee only from companies with a prior credit arrangement with the hospital.
• Farrer Park Hospital accepts recognised Letters of Guarantee against the deposit. Patients paying for themselves without medical insurance make a full deposit, as set out in their financial counselling form, before admission.

Our guide for international patients covers planning the trip itself.

What the procedure codes mean

MOH codes surgery by what the operation achieves, not how it is done. Its code list says the codes “focus on the intent and outcome of the surgical procedure, regardless of the surgical access route and/or technology used”. There is no separate code for microdiscectomy or endoscopic discectomy. SB723S is the code for a single-level discectomy or decompression of the back (not the neck) without fusion, so ask your surgeon to confirm the code on your quote. Revision surgery at the same level has its own code, SB726S (table 6B, surgeon’s fee benchmark S$13,080 – S$17,004 including GST).

Source: MOH, Table of Surgical Procedures (updated 17 August 2026).

Before you agree to a quote

• Ask for the MOH procedure (TOSP) code, and compare the surgeon’s and anaesthetist’s fees with MOH’s benchmark for that code.
• Ask what the estimate includes: the room type, the expected length of stay, any implants, and what is excluded.
• Check with your insurer whether your specialist and hospital are on its panel, and ask about pre-authorisation.
• If you are using MediSave, ask the hospital how much it will claim under your procedure’s table.

Is surgery the right step?

These figures describe what an operation costs, not whether you need one. If surgery has been recommended and you are unsure, a second opinion from another subspecialist can confirm the plan or set out the alternatives before you commit.

These are published reference figures, not quotes. Fees change, and your own bill depends on your case, the hospital and your insurance. Confirm costs with your hospital, doctor and insurer before you decide.