Review of Yearly Cap on Use of Medisave

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Foo Mee Har

MP for West Coast GRC

Question No. 196

To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will review the yearly cap on the use of Medisave in line with inflation of medication costs and increases in treatment costs for common chronic diseases such that 90% of costs can be met with Medisave.

Written Answer

1        Under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP), Singaporeans can use up to $400 per Medisave account per year to pay for their chronic disease treatment.  19 chronic conditions are covered under CDMP, which accounts for more than 90% of chronic attendances seen at polyclinics today.

2        In 2015, the $400 CDMP limit was fully sufficient for 9 in 10 subsidised patients with common chronic conditions.  This was higher than 8 in 10 in 2014, and was due to the full effect of outpatient subsidy enhancements for lower and middle-income Singaporeans and the Pioneer Generation Package in 2015.

3        Patients whose medical bills for chronic conditions exceed the $400 cap can also use the Medisave of their family members to pay, or apply for Medifund at the polyclinics or subsidised specialist outpatient clinics in public hospitals if they face financial difficulties.

4        MOH will continue to monitor the affordability of subsidised care, especially for chronic diseases, and review the Medisave withdrawal limits regularly, while taking into consideration the need to ensure that Medisave balances are not depleted prematurely.