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Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Gan Thiam Poh
MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC
Question No. 2164
To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider allowing those who are disabled and insured under CareShield Life to make claims and commence receiving a prorated one-third of their monthly payouts upon their inability to perform one Activity of Daily Living (ADL) independently instead of waiting till they are unable to perform three or more ADLs independently before receiving payouts.
Oral Answer
1 CareShield Life will protect Singaporeans against the long-term care costs of severe disability by providing monthly cash payouts when a policyholder is unable to perform three or more Activities of Daily Living (ADL). To keep the scheme sustainable and premiums affordable for all, it is targeted at severe disability, given that the needs and costs for caring with someone with severe disability are most significant.
2 Should the scheme be expanded to cover mild to moderate disabilities, premiums will be significantly higher and affordability will be affected. Allowing policyholders to receive payouts, full or partial, once they are unable to perform one ADL will result in higher premiums. To illustrate, if policyholders are able to receive payouts once they are unable to perform two ADLs, premiums will need to increase by about one-third. If we loosen the claims criterion further to one ADL, premiums will increase even more significantly. Reducing the payouts by two-thirds at one ADL will not fully offset the premium increase required to cover the individuals who are unable to perform one ADL, as there will still be more claimants overall.
3 Singaporeans who wish to be have better coverage, including making a claim when they are unable to perform two ADLs, can consider purchasing Supplement policies from the private insurers, which is currently already available under the existing ElderShield. We also have other Government assistance schemes such as the Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund as well as Government-funded safety nets such as MediFund and ComCare, to complement personal savings and family support to help Singaporeans with mild or moderate disabilities and who are facing financial difficulties.