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Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef
MP for Marine Parade GRC
Question No. 226
To ask the Minister for Health whether the use of Medisave for patients with confirmed terminal illnesses and end-stage diseases with significantly limited lifespan can be liberalised more for their use.
Oral Answer
1 Care options for patients with terminal illnesses and end-stage diseases include palliative treatment at home or in a hospice. Palliative care is subsidised and patients can tap on Medisave to pay for the remaining copayment.
2 MOH recently raised the Medisave limits so that patients can tap on more Medisave for palliative care needs. In Jan 2015, the Medisave withdrawal limit for inpatient hospices was increased from $160 per day to $200 per day. There are no daily limits for home palliative care but there is a lifetime Medisave withdrawal limit which was increased from $1,500 to $2,500. Patients can use their own or their immediate family members’ Medisave.
3 However, if the patient passes away in the hospice, he may use all the available balance in his own Medisave account for the final inpatient hospice bill without any daily limit. Similarly, for a home palliative patient with terminal cancer or end-stage organ failure, all the available balance in his own Medisave account may be used for the bills, and this will not be subject to the lifetime limit.
4 Bills may be covered by government subsidies, Medisave or charity dollars from VWOs. Overall, about 8 out of 10 inpatient hospice bills resulted in no out-of-pocket payment; while about 9 in 10 home palliative care patients did not have to make out-of-pocket payment for their bills. MOH will continue to ensure that the Medisave withdrawal limits for end-of-life care remain sufficient, along with subsidy coverage to keep these services affordable.