MediShield Life insurance coverage, claim limits to be reviewed amid rising healthcare costs
SINGAPORE — The MediShield Life insurance plan is being reviewed to ensure healthcare remains accessible and affordable amid rising costs, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced on Wednesday (March 6).
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SINGAPORE — The MediShield Life insurance plan is being reviewed to ensure healthcare remains accessible and affordable amid rising costs, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced on Wednesday (March 6).
MediShield Life is administered by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board and helps to pay for large hospital bills and selected costly outpatient treatments. It was designed such that nine out of 10 subsidised bills are adequately covered, said Mr Ong as he detailed his ministry's spending plans in parliament.
However, this benchmark is being "eroded" as hospital bills are getting "even bigger", he added.
Bill sizes have grown by 5 per cent annually in public hospitals, and by 7 per cent annually in private hospitals over the last few years.
As a result, the proportion of subsidised bills adequately covered by MediShield Life has come down to around eight out of 10 and this is expected to continue to slip further, said Mr Ong.
As such, a MediShield Life Council — set up to review the administration of the plan — will look at refreshing current claim limits for inpatient and day surgery treatments, to cover nine in 10 subsidised bills.
It will also review MediSave limits in tandem, to ensure the two CPF schemes collectively provide better coverage for medical bills.
MediSave is a national medical savings scheme that helps people set aside part of their income to meet healthcare needs. The Ministry of Health (MOH) envisages a "fairly significant" increase in the claim limits, said Mr Ong. For example, for an episode involving angioplasty where a stent is placed to open a blocked artery, as well as a few nights of stay at the intensive care unit, the claim limits may need to double. "This will reduce out-of-pocket costs significantly," he added. The council will also consider extending MediShield Life coverage to more types of outpatient and home-based care, as well as improving coverage of treatments already included in the scheme, such as dialysis. The Mobile Inpatient Care-at-Home or MIC@Home is one home-based care service which will be covered by MediShield Life and other schemes and subsidies from April 1. The council will also explore how MediShield Life coverage can be expanded to cell, tissue and gene therapy products (CTGTPs) intended for therapeutic, preventive, palliative or diagnostic purposes. "Medical science is advancing rapidly, and CTGTPs have the potential to revolutionise healthcare and deliver effective treatment of previously incurable diseases," said Mr Ong. However, while the technology is promising and advancing fast, it is nascent and very expensive, he added. "It could cost anything from a few hundred thousand dollars to a few million dollars, per treatment." Mr Ong said: "We want to start including CTGTPs under MediShield Life coverage. But we need to put in place safeguards to ensure that financing of CTGTPs is sustainable." For instance, this will mean extending MediShield Life coverage only to treatments that are assessed to be safe, clinically effective and cost-effective. "This is a significant step to help all Singaporean patients, regardless of their income levels, have access to cost-effective, novel, state-of-the-art therapies."
MOH said these changes, as well as the rising payout and claim trends, will require a review of MediShield Life premiums to ensure that premiums remain adequate to keep the scheme self-sustaining. While premiums are expected to increase, they will continue to be fully payable by MediSave, it said.
To support the lower-income and those who may not have enough MediSave balances, the Health Ministry will review premium subsidies as well as other targeted support measures. “No one will lose their MediShield Life coverage due to genuine inability to afford premiums,” it noted. The MediShield Life Council is expected to finalise its recommendations in the second half of the year. CNA
MediSave is a national medical savings scheme that helps people set aside part of their income to meet healthcare needs. The Ministry of Health (MOH) envisages a "fairly significant" increase in the claim limits, said Mr Ong. For example, for an episode involving angioplasty where a stent is placed to open a blocked artery, as well as a few nights of stay at the intensive care unit, the claim limits may need to double. "This will reduce out-of-pocket costs significantly," he added. The council will also consider extending MediShield Life coverage to more types of outpatient and home-based care, as well as improving coverage of treatments already included in the scheme, such as dialysis. The Mobile Inpatient Care-at-Home or MIC@Home is one home-based care service which will be covered by MediShield Life and other schemes and subsidies from April 1. The council will also explore how MediShield Life coverage can be expanded to cell, tissue and gene therapy products (CTGTPs) intended for therapeutic, preventive, palliative or diagnostic purposes. "Medical science is advancing rapidly, and CTGTPs have the potential to revolutionise healthcare and deliver effective treatment of previously incurable diseases," said Mr Ong. However, while the technology is promising and advancing fast, it is nascent and very expensive, he added. "It could cost anything from a few hundred thousand dollars to a few million dollars, per treatment." Mr Ong said: "We want to start including CTGTPs under MediShield Life coverage. But we need to put in place safeguards to ensure that financing of CTGTPs is sustainable." For instance, this will mean extending MediShield Life coverage only to treatments that are assessed to be safe, clinically effective and cost-effective. "This is a significant step to help all Singaporean patients, regardless of their income levels, have access to cost-effective, novel, state-of-the-art therapies."
MOH said these changes, as well as the rising payout and claim trends, will require a review of MediShield Life premiums to ensure that premiums remain adequate to keep the scheme self-sustaining. While premiums are expected to increase, they will continue to be fully payable by MediSave, it said.
To support the lower-income and those who may not have enough MediSave balances, the Health Ministry will review premium subsidies as well as other targeted support measures. “No one will lose their MediShield Life coverage due to genuine inability to afford premiums,” it noted. The MediShield Life Council is expected to finalise its recommendations in the second half of the year. CNA
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Source: CNA
