Pioneer Generation Package Coverage for Traditional Chinese Medicine Services

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for Health (a) whether there are any plans for traditional Chinese medicine services to be included under the coverage of the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP); and (b) whether MediSave incentives can be given to Pioneer Generation members who do not use any PGP subsidies within a calendar year as an encouragement for staying healthy.

There are currently no plans to extend Pioneer Generation (PG) subsidies to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which plays a complementary role in our healthcare system. PG subsidies are meant to help Pioneers with part of their healthcare costs in hospitals, polyclinics and general practitioner clinics. The Ministry of Health provides support for TCM development in various ways, including funding and support for TCM capability development, continuing education and research. Charitable TCM establishments with Institution of Public Character status also benefit from tax exemption and are eligible to receive tax deductible donations, which enable them to provide affordable TCM services in the community.

Under the PG package, all Pioneers receive life-long annual MediSave top-ups of up to $800, depending on the year they were born. Pioneers who stay healthy will be able to save more of these MediSave top-ups for their future needs. More importantly, staying healthy will enable them to age well and lead an active life.

To help them do so, we have several measures to encourage our Pioneers to stay healthy. For example, the Health Promotion Board encourages Pioneers to do regular physical activity through the "You Can Get Moving" campaign. Another measure is the enhanced Screen for Life programme. From 1 September 2017, Pioneers can receive free health screening and the first follow-up consult when they go for recommended screenings.