Limit on Medical Costs to be Borne by Employers of Foreign Domestic Workers

Debated in Parliament on 3 Nov 2014.

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Zaqy Mohamad asked whether there is a cap on medical costs for employers of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) and how the government protects employers from high medical bills, noting differences from corporate healthcare liabilities.
The government does not subsidize healthcare for FDWs, and employers must bear all medical costs to prevent unpaid bills from burdening taxpayers, a condition agreed upon when applying for work passes.
Employers are required to purchase mandatory medical insurance for FDWs with a minimum coverage of $15,000 per year, which covers 98% of inpatient and day surgery bills at public hospitals, and personal accident insurance with $40,000 coverage.
Employers facing costs beyond the insured amount can discuss installment plans with hospitals, and are encouraged to buy additional coverage for higher protection, especially for private hospital treatments.
The insurance requirements aim to balance affordability for employers with sufficient coverage for most medical scenarios, based on historical data from 2010 to 2013.

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Full Transcript

Zaqy Mohamad

Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there is a cap on medical costs to be borne by an employer of a foreign domestic worker (FDW); (b) whether the liabilities to be covered by an employer of a FDW are different from a company's liability

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for an employee's healthcare cost which has an upper limit based on workmen's compensation and other corporate insurance taken on its employees; (c) with an FDW's medical and hospitalisation charges being billed as that for foreign patients, how can the Government protect employers who face high medical and hospital bills.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Zaqy Mohamad asked whether there is a cap on medical costs for employers of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) and how the government protects employers from high medical bills, noting differences from corporate healthcare liabilities.
The government does not subsidize healthcare for FDWs, and employers must bear all medical costs to prevent unpaid bills from burdening taxpayers, a condition agreed upon when applying for work passes.
Employers are required to purchase mandatory medical insurance for FDWs with a minimum coverage of $15,000 per year, which covers 98% of inpatient and day surgery bills at public hospitals, and personal accident insurance with $40,000 coverage.
Employers facing costs beyond the insured amount can discuss installment plans with hospitals, and are encouraged to buy additional coverage for higher protection, especially for private hospital treatments.
The insurance requirements aim to balance affordability for employers with sufficient coverage for most medical scenarios, based on historical data from 2010 to 2013.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Limit on Medical Costs to be Borne by Employers of Foreign Domestic Workers

Debated in Parliament on 3 Nov 2014.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Zaqy Mohamad asked whether there is a cap on medical costs for employers of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) and how the government protects employers from high medical bills, noting differences from corporate healthcare liabilities.
The government does not subsidize healthcare for FDWs, and employers must bear all medical costs to prevent unpaid bills from burdening taxpayers, a condition agreed upon when applying for work passes.
Employers are required to purchase mandatory medical insurance for FDWs with a minimum coverage of $15,000 per year, which covers 98% of inpatient and day surgery bills at public hospitals, and personal accident insurance with $40,000 coverage.
Employers facing costs beyond the insured amount can discuss installment plans with hospitals, and are encouraged to buy additional coverage for higher protection, especially for private hospital treatments.
The insurance requirements aim to balance affordability for employers with sufficient coverage for most medical scenarios, based on historical data from 2010 to 2013.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Full Transcript

Zaqy Mohamad

Page: 153

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Zaqy Mohamad asked whether there is a cap on medical costs for employers of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) and how the government protects employers from high medical bills, noting differences from corporate healthcare liabilities.
The government does not subsidize healthcare for FDWs, and employers must bear all medical costs to prevent unpaid bills from burdening taxpayers, a condition agreed upon when applying for work passes.
Employers are required to purchase mandatory medical insurance for FDWs with a minimum coverage of $15,000 per year, which covers 98% of inpatient and day surgery bills at public hospitals, and personal accident insurance with $40,000 coverage.
Employers facing costs beyond the insured amount can discuss installment plans with hospitals, and are encouraged to buy additional coverage for higher protection, especially for private hospital treatments.
The insurance requirements aim to balance affordability for employers with sufficient coverage for most medical scenarios, based on historical data from 2010 to 2013.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Tan Chuan-Jin

The Government does not give any healthcare subsidies to foreigners, including FDWs. When employers bring in FDWs, we must ensure that any medical bills incurred by the FDW do not remain unpaid and get passed on to taxpayers. This would be unfair to society at large.

Therefore, MOM requires all employers of FDWs and non-domestic Work Permit holders to bear the full costs of employing these workers, including the cost of medical treatment. Employers agree with this condition when they apply for work passes.

To help employers meet the financial burden of bearing the medical costs of their foreign workers, including FDWs, mandatory employer-financed medical insurance for day surgery and inpatient expenses was introduced in 2008 for each Work Permit and S Pass holder employed. This is complemented by additional requirements to purchase, in the case of FDWs, Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) with a mandatory minimum coverage of $40,000.

The minimum medical insurance coverage was set at a basic level in order to keep premiums affordable for the vast majority of employers. In 2010, in response to feedback from employers, we raised the mandatory minimum coverage from $5,000 to $15,000 per worker per year. This is sufficient to fully cover 98% of day surgery and inpatient bills incurred by FDWs at the public hospitals from 2010 to 2013 and continues to provide a reasonable level of protection for employers at affordable premiums.

Employers who still face difficulties in paying medical bills beyond the insured amount may approach the hospitals to discuss various options, such as instalment payments. For greater protection and peace of mind, we encourage employers who are concerned about paying for high medical bills, including those who wish to obtain treatment at private hospitals, to purchase higher insurance coverage beyond the minimum requirement.

Limit on Medical Costs to be Borne by Employers of Foreign Domestic Workers

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Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Zaqy Mohamad

Summary

Questions Identified

Limit on Medical Costs to be Borne by Employers of Foreign Domestic Workers

Summary

Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Zaqy Mohamad

Summary

Questions Identified

Tan Chuan-Jin