Medifund Reaches More Needy And Elderly Patients

More than $90m in Medifund aid given out in FY 2011 1. More than $90 million of Medifund aid was disbursed to needy patients in FY2011, up 16 percent from FY2010. Of this amount, about $76 million was channelled towards patients in the acute sector while the remaining $15 million went towards those in the Intermediate and Long-Term Care (ILTC) sector. Needy elderly patients received $28 million of Medifund assistance, or 20 percent more compared to the previous fiscal year. At 518,000 successful applications, the number of successful applications for Medifund was also higher in FY2011, an increase of 8 percent over FY2010. 2. The Medical Endowment Fund (Medifund) was set up in 1993 to assist Singapore Citizens who are unable to afford their medical bills despite government subsidies, Medisave and MediShield/ElderShield. The amount of Medifund assistance given is tailored to individual circumstances. Of the successful Medifund applications, more than 93 percent received full assistance, i.e. 100 percent assistance for the outstanding subsidised bill. On average, the amount of assistance given was $1,295 per inpatient episode and $103 per outpatient episode. More details on the FY2011 Medical Endowment Fund Annual Report can be found here. 3. Over the years, the Government has enhanced Medifund to help more Singapore Citizens. In the last five years, the Government has pumped in about $1.6 billion into Medifund and Medifund Silver and the capital sum now stands at $3 billion. With the latest injection of $600 million in FY2012, the Ministry of Health (MOH) was able to extend Medifund to non-residential ILTC services from 1 April 2012. MOH was also able to set aside another $10 million of interest income over the next five years, from 1 March 2013, in Medifund Junior to help more families with needy children below the age of 18 years to defray their healthcare costs. MOH will continue to strengthen the social safety net to make sure no needy Singapore Citizen is denied healthcare due to the inability to pay. 4. MOH regularly reviews our healthcare financing system, which comprises the 3Ms - Medisave, MediShield and Medifund – so that it remains effective and relevant for Singaporeans. This includes the recently expanded MediShield to provide longer and better coverage for large medical bills, and a one-time Medisave top-up to offset the premium increases. MediShield coverage was also extended to cover congenital and neonatal conditions and a Medisave grant of $3,000 will also be given to all newborn Singapore citizens born on or after 26 August 2012 to help pay for the MediShield premiums and other healthcare expenses. The Ministry will also embark on a major review this year to ensure that public health care remains accessible and affordable to Singaporeans.