MediShield Life Adequacy and IP Consumer Education

NOTICE PAPER NO. 3023 

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER 

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2024 

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament 

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo  

MP for East Coast GRC 

Question No. 6468 

To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there will be a review on the coverage  adequacy of MediShield Life to ensure that patients get appropriate treatment;  and (b) whether more advisory support can be provided for policyholders,  especially seniors, in the selection and scope of coverage for Integrated Shield  Plan to minimise unnecessary coverage and to ensure that they have adequate  health insurance coverage to pay for their medical bills when they need it. 

Answer 

1      MediShield Life is our national health insurance scheme which protects Singaporeans against major healthcare episodes. It is designed to cover the vast majority – nine in ten – of subsidised bills. 

2      The MediShield Life Council is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the scheme. The key objective is to ensure that it continues to protect Singaporeans against large medical bills, amidst rising bill sizes and the evolving healthcare landscape. This means that coverage may broaden and claim limits may need to go up, to give Singaporeans greater peace of mind should they encounter a major health episode. More details will be available when the review is completed later this year. 

3      Notwithstanding the review of MediShield Life, many Singaporeans will still choose to buy additional private health insurance. These are called Integrated Shield Plans, or IPs. IPs provide greater coverage on top of MediShield Life, mainly to cover expenses for unsubsidised care in public hospitals, or in private hospitals. Some will also choose to buy riders, which can further reduce cash outlay.

4      However, many people pay for protection that they do not use. To illustrate, about half of patients with IP and rider protection end up using subsidised public healthcare for hospitalisation or day surgery. These patients may not need IPs or riders, because MediShield Life is generally sufficient for such episodes, and will be further enhanced after the major review this year. In addition, premiums for IPs and riders charged by private insurers are getting more and more expensive.

5      We will do more to help consumers understand their needs, and choose the right health insurance to buy. Today, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) website and MoneySense, Singapore’s national financial education programme, already have educational articles on what to consider before buying an IP. MOH also 

began publishing a comparison of indicative lifetime premiums across IPs this year. This is in addition to existing resources on MOH’s website which compare the benefits, features, and premiums of IPs. We can support individuals in making more informed health insurance decisions, and will be working with CPF Board and the Life Insurance Association (LIA) Singapore to achieve this.