MOH continues to enhance financial aid procedures

MOH's reply

MOH continues to enhance financial aid procedures

We thank Mrs Lee May May for her feedback (Make it easier to apply for aid for medical bills, Sept 23).

MediFund provides a safety net for Singaporeans who face financial difficulties after receiving government subsidies and tapping other means of payment, including MediShield Life and Medisave.

Medical social workers will assess the circumstances of each patient carefully, including ensuring that immediate family members have sufficient MediSave for their own use and helping patients access other assistance schemes they may be eligible for.

Each healthcare institution decides on the required MediFund support, tailored to the circumstances of the patient.

We periodically review our financial assistance processes to improve them where possible.

For instance, subsidised patients on public assistance today do not need to undergo further MediFund assessment at medical institutions.

In an initiative led by our medical social workers, we are also implementing system enhancements that will make it more convenient for MediFund patients who visit more than one institution.

In addition, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has physical touch points called AIC Links located in acute and community hospitals providing information and assistance on relevant financial assistance schemes.

Four new AIC Links are being set up within community settings in Toa Payoh, Choa Chu Kang, Pasir Ris and Nee Soon to improve access to information, and referral for services and schemes.

Individuals can also access relevant information on financial assistance schemes via the AIC hotline on 1800-650-6060 or at the AIC website: www.aic.sg.

We will continue to review our processes so that caregivers and patients who require assistance are able to access it more conveniently.

Cham Dao Song
Director, Finance Policy
Ministry of Health

Forum Letter

Make it easier to apply for aid for medical bills

Many forms of financial aid are available in Singapore.

However, the process of applying for some of them can be complicated and time-consuming.

I have been the caregiver of my sick parents since I was 13 years old. I still struggle with their increasing medical and daily expenses.

In recent years, their health has deteriorated, which means that I have to either stop working and become a full-time caregiver at home, or engage a domestic helper to share my caregiving load so that I can continue with my job, earn money to pay for current expenses and save for my retirement.

But hiring a domestic helper will further add to my existing financial hardship.

Both of my parents are covered by Medifund. But they have to utilise my Medisave account first before Medifund assistance can kick in to help us with the medical bills.

As their health conditions require us to consult specialists in different hospitals, I have had to sacrifice my limited annual leave to approach medical social workers at all of these hospitals to help me with the application processes for financial aid.

Policymakers should look into how to better coordinate and ease the processes of applying for financial aid.

They should also look into how to make the caregiving journey sustainable for caregivers, without compromising the caregiver's own nest egg.

Otherwise, caregivers will themselves end up impoverished, and it will remain a vicious circle.

The Straits Times, 23 September 2019
Lee May May