Conference
Research
Nikita Khoo
PhD Candidate, Singapore Management University
Research at the intersection of healthcare affordability, health policy, health economics, equity, and household decision-making in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region.
ISPOR Asia Pacific Summit 2026
6–8 September 2026
Bangkok, Thailand
Hidden Trade-Offs in Healthcare Affordability: How Financing Rules Shape Resource Allocation Among Sandwiched Households in Singapore
Nikita Khoo, PhD Candidate
College of Integrative Studies, Singapore Management University
This research develops a household-level framework for understanding healthcare affordability among "sandwiched" households — working adults who may simultaneously support older parents, children, and their own healthcare needs.
It examines how subsidy eligibility, means-testing, co-payments, compulsory savings, insurance coverage, and family-based payment assumptions may shape treatment decisions and household resource allocation.
Healthcare affordability is not only a system-level financing outcome; it is also a household-level allocation process.
Distinguishing Cost of Living from Quality of Life: A Conceptual Framework Using Singapore as an Illustrative Case
Nikita Khoo, PhD Candidate
College of Integrative Studies, Singapore Management University
This research examines why cost of living and quality of life should not be treated as interchangeable concepts in health policy and outcomes research.
The framework distinguishes material affordability pressures — including housing, food, transport, healthcare, and caregiving — from dimensions of lived wellbeing such as health, financial security, autonomy, access to services, and social participation.
Good measured quality of life can coexist with hidden affordability strain when households preserve wellbeing by reducing savings, relying on caregivers, or postponing other needs.
International Seminar on Urban Form (ISUF) 2026
31 August – 4 September 2026
Social-Spatial Exclusion in Urban Welfare System: The Case of Singapore's Middle Income Population
Presenter: Nikita Khoo
This research examines social-spatial exclusion affecting Singapore's middle-income population and considers how urban form, welfare structures, and socioeconomic positioning can create forms of exclusion that may be overlooked by conventional welfare classifications.
Let's connect at a conference.