Media Briefing by the Medishield Life Review Committee (15 Nov 2013)

The MediShield Life Review Committee, chaired by Mr Bobby Chin, held a media briefing on Friday, 15 November 2013, to introduce its members and share its plans for the upcoming months. The committee members come from a wide range of fields: industry, insurance and finance, healthcare, union and grassroots.

As announced by PM in his National Day Rally speech 2013, MediShield Life will cover all Singaporeans for life, including those with pre-existing conditions, and give Singaporeans better protection from large hospital bills. The Committee's task was to review the key parameters for MediShield Life, and make recommendations to meet the objective of ensuring adequate insurance protection for all Singaporeans for life, while maintaining premium affordability.

In its review, three key issues that the Committee would consider are:

• What the additional benefits for MediShield Life could be, to give Singaporeans better peace of mind for large bills;

• Finding the right balance between benefit enhancements and premium affordability; and

• Better allocation of premiums across a policyholder’s lifetime, with higher payments during the working years to be set aside for future premium discounts during the retirement years.

The Committee highlighted its plans to engage Singaporeans widely through a range of feedback channels, and in particular through focus group discussions (FGDs), to gain an in-depth understanding of Singaporeans’ concerns and gather useful suggestions. Singaporeans can sign up for the FGDs through the MediShield Life website, as well as submit their feedback through the website and the MOH website. The first FGD session will be held on 27 Nov 2013.

In addition, the Committee highlighted that it would engage key stakeholder groups such as healthcare professionals, insurers, academics and commentators, employers and unions, and grassroots members. The Committee would also look into consulting independent experts for their opinion on MediShield Life, particularly on some of the more technical aspects of the scheme.

The Committee will provide regular updates on the progress of the public consultation, and consider all issues comprehensively before making its recommendations to MOH in May 2014.