Striking a balance on Medisave use

10 January 2013, Straits Times

Why the hefty Medisave transaction fee?

MY MOTHER is a patient at Choa Chu Kang Polyclinic. She wants to use Medisave to pay her bills, but needs to fulfil a few conditions before she can be allowed to do so.

She needs to pay the first $30 as well as 15 per cent of the outstanding amount. On top of that, there is a transaction fee of $3.50 levied for each outpatient bill submitted for Medisave deduction.

For a bill of $50, my mother has to pay $36.50 ($30 + $3 + $3.50), and is utilising only $17 of her Medisave. The transaction fee is 20.6 per cent of the Medisave amount used. This is exorbitant, as compared to a normal Giro transaction fee.

For amounts less than $50, she would have to foot the entire bill. This might seem like a small amount, but for those in financial difficulties, it will help if they can utilise their Medisave savings from the first dollar, and not have to pay such a hefty transaction fee.

Why is there a need for the patient to co-pay the first $30 as well as 15 per cent of the balance? Why can't they use Medisave from the first dollar?

Also, how did the Central Provident Fund Board arrive at this transaction fee of $3.50? Can this fee be lowered?

I look forward to receiving a satisfactory response from the relevant authorities.

Lim Chai Yen (Madam)

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Reply from MOH

18 January 2013, Straits Times

Striking a balance on Medisave use

MADAM Lim Chai Yen ("Why the hefty Medisave transaction fee?"; Forum Online, Jan 10) requested an explanation of conditions governing the use of Medisave under the Chronic Disease Management Programme.

Medisave is designed primarily to help patients with inpatient treatments.

In recent years, the use of Medisave has been extended to help defray the expenses arising from more costly outpatient treatments as well.

Nevertheless, as Medisave savings are finite, there is a need to strike the right balance between allowing greater use of Medisave to help Singaporeans reduce their cash outlay, and avoiding premature depletion of their Medisave monies.

Therefore, while Medisave use is allowed for outpatient chronic disease treatment, a deductible of $30 and cash co-payment of 15 per cent are required to enable members to save their Medisave monies for larger bills.

With regard to the Medisave withdrawal transaction fee, this is charged each time Medisave is used for medical expenses. It is to help defray the costs of administering the Medisave scheme and processing the claims from members' Medisave accounts.

In cases where patients requiring polyclinic services face financial difficulties, there are existing schemes and programmes to assist them.

Bey Mui Leng (Ms)
Director Corporate Communications
Ministry of Health