Debated in Parliament on 17 Feb 2014.
Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Minister for Health to date, how many Singaporeans have been successfully registered for the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) out of the estimated number of potential eligible applicants and out of the total number of applicants who live in HDB rental flats respectively.
About 520,000 Singaporeans have signed up for the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) as at 31 December 2013. Based on our records, we have successfully registered close to 20,500 households living in HDB rental flats for CHAS. This translates to about 40% of all households living in HDB rental flats. The remaining 60% who are not on CHAS includes Singaporeans on the Public Assistance (PA) scheme who enjoy free medical services at public healthcare institutions, as well as younger families who can now qualify for CHAS following the removal of the age floor on 1 January 2014.
Working closely with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), HPB and grassroots organisations, MOH will continue to explore ways to target our outreach to the lower- and middle-income Singaporean households to encourage more eligible Singaporeans to sign up for the scheme. In particular, for residents of HDB rental flats, AIC has been conducting door-to-door visits, together with grassroots leaders, to assist them in their applications if required.
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