KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — Johor’s nursing home and hospice industry is undergoing a boom with an influx of Singaporeans drawn by fees at least half as cheap as those charged in the republic, Singapore’s Straits Times reported today.

According to the newspaper, nursing homes in the state’s capital of Johor Baru — about a 30-minute drive across the Causeway from the Lion City — charge fees starting from S$600 (RM1,600) a month.

In comparison, charges at their Singaporean counterparts begin at S$1,200 and extend up to S$3,500 monthly.

And while the republic’s government provides subsidies of between 10 and 75 per cent, these are not available to households earning above S$2,600 a month.

“If you are poor, the government will look after you. If you are rich, you can afford three maids to look after you 24 hours. If you’re middle-class, it’s tough,” Spring Valley director Frankie Ker was quoted as saying by the ST.

Spring Valley is one of many such homes experiencing a rise in Singaporean customers, with 40 per cent of its 150 residents hailing from the city state.

It is also thought to be the largest nursing home operator in Johor, with a 210-bed facility. Yet it has already acquired a 8,000-sq ft plot of land, where its Singaporean-Malaysian owners plan to open a smaller 84-bed home.

Not all Johor homes target the middle-class Singaporeans. Some such as the Econ Healthcare Group charge fees that go as high S$2,500, but in return offer more spacious and luxurious facilities than is available for the price in Singapore.

The firm, which has eight nursing homes in Singapore, recently opened a 57,000-sq ft four-floor facility with 199 beds in Johor.

“There is potential in Johor Baru because of lower land and labour costs, which mean lower fees,” Econ group executive chairman Ong Chu Poh was quoted as saying in the ST report.

But not every Singaporean resident is enamoured with the larger rooms, better facilities and cheaper fees.

Such things come at the price of distance, a distance that means fewer and shorter visits from their families still in Singapore.

Seow Teck Beng, a resident at a Spring Valley facility, said his family visits just once every quarter.

“I miss them,” the 89-year-old retired labourer told the ST.