MOH's Response to NTUC's Statement on Medishield Reform

26 January 2005

This article has been migrated from an earlier version of the site and may display formatting inconsistencies.

26 Jan 2005

MOH has studied the NTUC statement on MediShield Reform. It captures comprehensively NTUC's views on the proposed reform which it has also shared with MOH all these months.

MOH values the feedback as the reform must be meaningful to Singaporeans in general and workers in particular. That is why MOH has proactively engaged NTUC in the deliberations. In particular, we had several fruitful dialogue sessions with unionists last year.

The reform package which MOH announces today has therefore benefitted and has incorporated the many sound suggestions made by the NTUC. The below annex provides a detailed response to each of the NTUC recommendations.

MOH will continue to engage the NTUC and its members to see if the package can be further optimised, and in our public education efforts.

In particular, MOH would like to help the NTUC realise its desire for "portable medical benefits" which it has been advocating for several years. MOH thinks that it can be done if employers and unions can take into account the reformed MediShield and repackage any existing employer medical benefits around it.

Annex

Table caption

S/No	Feedback / Suggestion	MOH's Response
1.	Raise MediShield claim limits to ease Singaporeans the burden of large hospital bills.	Agree.
2.	Regularly review the list of excluded treatments.	Agree.
3.	Increase MediShield maximum coverage age of 80 years, with regular reviews to ensure it remains updated as life expectancy increases.	Maximum age was raised to 75 in 1996. It was again raised to 80 in 2001. MOH has no immediate plan to change the status quo. We can review it in due course.
4.	Pay special attention to the needs of the elderly, and provide them with financial assistance, e.g. subsidies or Medisave top-ups so that they can afford the higher premiums.	Agree in principle. Government has from time to time topped up Medisave balances of citizens, particularly older people, when the budget position allowed. It will continue to do so in future.
5.	Keep premiums affordable, particularly taking into consideration the needs of the elderly and lower-income.	Agree.
6.	Increase in deductibles should not be too drastic, so as not to cause hardship to the low-income workers and the elderly. Deductibles should not increase to more than $1,000 for Class C and $1,500 for Class B2 wards.	Agree.
7.	Revamped MediShield should be made compulsory so that there is basic protection for all Singaporeans.	Agree in principle. However, some Singaporeans who already enjoy generous employer medical benefits will find this duplicative. Fortunately, the current opt-out approach has achieved widespread coverage, with participation by 90% of the working population. MOH has therefore decided to stick with the current opt-out approach.
8.	MOH to conduct a one-time exercise to enable those that have opted out of MediShield previously to rejoin the scheme.	Agree in principle. However, we have to do so in a way which is fair to the vast majority of the policyholders who have stayed loyal to MediShield. First, they will be subject to underwriting (medical examination) when they apply to rejoin MediShield. Second, those who have already developed illnesses will have these conditions excluded from cover.
9.	MOH to introduce an opt-out system to provide MediShield cover for dependents.	Agree in principle. MOH introduced an additional opt-out point to cover non-working spouses in 2003. We will explore other ways to enhance the opt-out system to increase MediShield's coverage.
10.	The benefits of signing up on MediShield early should be made clear to younger Singaporeans.	Agree.
11.	Continue to keep healthcare costs down, while ensuring a quality and effective healthcare system for all.	Agree.