Claims and Payouts under CareShield Life

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider allowing those who are disabled and insured under CareShield Life to make claims and commence receiving a prorated one-third of their monthly payouts upon their inability to perform one Activity of Daily Living (ADL) independently instead of waiting till they are unable to perform three or more ADLs independently before receiving payouts.

Mr Speaker, Sir, CareShield Life will protect Singaporeans against the long-term care costs of severe disability by providing monthly cash payouts when a policyholder is unable to perform three or more Activities of Daily Living (ADL). To keep the scheme sustainable and premiums affordable for all, it is targeted at severe disability, given that the needs and costs for caring someone with severe disability are most significant.

Should the scheme be expanded to cover mild to moderate disabilities, premiums will be significantly higher and affordability will be affected. Allowing policyholders to receive payouts, whether full or partial, once they are unable to perform one ADL will result in higher premiums. To illustrate, if policyholders are able to receive payouts once they are unable to perform two ADLs, premiums will need to increase by about one-third. If we loosen the claims criterion further to one ADL, premiums will increase even more significantly. Reducing the payouts by two-thirds at one ADL will not fully offset the premium increase required to cover the individuals who are unable to perform one ADL, as there will still be more claimants overall.

Singaporeans who wish to have better coverage, including making a claim when they are unable to perform two ADLs, can consider purchasing Supplement policies from the private insurers, which are currently already available under the existing ElderShield. We also have other Government assistance schemes, such as the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund, as well as Government-funded safety nets, such as MediFund and ComCare, to complement personal savings and family support to help Singaporeans with mild or moderate disabilities and who are facing financial difficulties.

Is it possible that Ministry will consider to give it as an option to all Singaporeans to consider, even though it is lower payout or higher premium, for one ADL, rather than wait for the three to be fulfilled?

This will be taken into account when designing the CareShield premiums. But as I said, if you take a leaf out of the ElderShield scheme, there is already coverage by way of supplements for those who have less than three ADLs.