CONTINUED AFFORDABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY TO MEDISHIELD LIFE FOR ALL SINGAPOREANS DESPITE RISING PREMIUMS

Mr Yip Hon Weng

MP for Yio Chu Kang

To ask the Minister for Health in view that premiums for MediShield Life look set to increase, how will the Ministry (i) ensure continued affordability and accessibility to the scheme for all Singaporeans, (ii) balance expanding coverage on ground-breaking treatments with maintaining affordable premiums and (iii) enhance public awareness about the various health insurance schemes, including private insurers’ options, to help Singaporeans make informed decisions on healthcare coverage.

1     The main purpose of the MediShield Life review is to better protect Singaporeans against large and unexpected medical bills. Claim limits for MediShield Life will therefore need to increase, even substantially. This is the main driver of premium increases.

2     Ground-breaking treatments like Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy Products are likely to be very expensive. However, because of infrequent usage, it is a minor factor in driving up premium increases. We should start to include them in MediShield Life because it is a fast-evolving medical field, which is likely to become mainstream treatment in time to come.

3     As a society, we want to ensure that Singaporeans have a chance to access these potentially effective treatments. MediShield Life can play a useful role, as it works by sharing the financial burden of high-cost, low-incidence treatments through risk pooling. To ensure the scheme remains affordable and sustainable, coverage may only be extended to treatments that are assessed to be clinically and cost-effective. The MediShield Life Council is reviewing this and will share more details later this year.

4     The Ministry of Health will also study how to help policyholders cope with MediShield Life premium increases and ensure that these remain fully payable by MediSave. There includes premium support for those who are in financial need and who may not have enough MediSave, as well as MediSave top-ups for certain segments of the population. No one will lose MediShield Life coverage due to a genuine inability to afford the premiums.

5     We will continue to support individuals in understanding their premiums, coverage and support available under MediShield Life. Those who wish to purchase additional optional coverage in the form of Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) may also access a comparison of benefits and premiums across IP insurers on MOH’s website.