Debated in Parliament on 16 Sep 2013.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Health what is the projected annual increase in MediShield payouts if (i) all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents are enrolled (ii) all pre-existing, congenital and neonatal conditions are covered; and (iii) the maximum coverage age is removed.
Mdm Speaker, as part of the overall healthcare financing review to ensure that healthcare remains affordable for all Singaporeans, MOH is studying the introduction of better coverage for large bills and moving to life-long MediShield coverage for all Singaporeans.
As the move to MediShield Life is a major policy shift, we will have a public consultation exercise later this year to seek Singaporeans' views on the proposed MediShield Life. The details and costs of the MediShield Life, including the likely impact on the payouts from MediShield Life if all pre-existing conditions and all residents are covered for life, are currently under
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study. More details will be shared during the public consultation exercise.
Madam, I have three supplementary questions. First, my concern is that the increased coverage will also come with higher premiums. While I support the increased coverage, my concern is that these higher premiums will be a financial burden on some members, especially the elderly and the low income. So, my questions are: is the Government planning to subsidise MediShield Life premiums as part of its overall plan to increase the healthcare budget, because currently MediShield is completely self-funding and receives no Government subsidies? Secondly, can the Government provide more details about the Pioneer Generation Package that was announced during the National Day Rally? Would it be means tested and what is the cut-off age? Lastly, when will the full details of MediShield Life be announced?
Mdm Speaker, first let me explain that today, the Government already indirectly subsidises MediShield because the Government provides top-ups into MediSave, and MediSave is being used to pay for the premium for MediShield. So, indirectly there is Government subsidy for MediShield, particularly for the lower income. Going forward, with MediShield Life, as the Member has rightly pointed out, with enhanced benefits, the pay-outs will increase and that is the objective of enhancing the benefits, and therefore the premium has to go up as well.
The Government is very conscious about the impact of higher premiums and, therefore, we have already made the commitment that we will make sure that the lower income as well as older Singaporeans who may not have sufficient savings, will be looked after. We will make sure that the premiums, with Government subsidies, will be affordable for them. That is the first question.
The Member also asked about the Pioneer Generation Package. The details are being worked out now. In due course, we will reveal more details on who will qualify for Pioneer Generation Package and what is provided for in the Pioneer Generation Package. I urge the Member to be patient. We will reveal that in time.
Last question is about the details of MediShield Life. We will have a public consultation. We are still working on MediShield Life and what form it will take. But the key parameter is that we want to make sure that all Singaporeans will be included and they will also be included throughout their lives. Therefore, we
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will remove the age limit on MediShield Life.
As for the other features, for example, how we can enhance the payouts, how we can help to reduce the co-payment especially for the larger bills, these are the details that the Ministry is working on now. During the public consultation, we will share more details. And we hope to be able to give even more details and the broad shape of the scheme by the next Committee of Supply (COS) debate.
Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Health Minister for accepting the feedback from the ground and several of us in the House to include those with pre-existing congenital conditions in MediShield Life. My question to Minister is: what are the details of the public consultation that Ministry is currently conducting, because it has just completed one public consultation before it has come up with this plan to include these others who were previously not included. The second is: when will MediShield Life be expected to be implemented, because there are quite a number of Singaporeans who are currently not receiving any basic health insurance at the moment?
Mdm Speaker, let me just explain that we have conducted a few rounds of public consultation on healthcare. In fact, the consultation is ongoing. So, we consult the public on many issues including Medisave, MediShield, as well as how we can help them with the medical costs in general. This coming public consultation is aimed specifically at MediShield Life and what the features are, and how do we make sure that it is practical and meaningful to the man in the street, to the patients who need help, and what are the features and the costs involved. There are several aspects to be dealt with in the consultation.
We will produce a consultation paper shortly before the consultation exercise starts, to outline what are the key things that we are consulting the public about. I will again urge the Member to be patient and it will be out soon.
As to when MediShield Life will be implemented, this is quite a major shift and, therefore, we will need to take a bit of time to work out the details and consult the public as well. I think it will take some time. We do not think it will be completed within a year. We hope to be able to implement MediShield Life by 2015.
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In the meantime, I am very conscious that the Member has asked what about those who need help who are not covered. For now, until we implement MediShield Life, for those who are excluded currently, if they still need help in terms of financial support, they can approach our hospitals or public health institutions and we have schemes to help them, especially for the lower income and, for the older Singaporeans. So, help is available even before MediShield Life comes into being, but with MediShield Life, they will have greater assurance that their healthcare bills will be covered by insurance.
I would like to thank the Minister for his answer. Post-National Day Rally discussions with the residents in Ulu Pandan have received warm acceptance for us taking care of the Pioneer Generation. My question is: many of them are advanced in years and, therefore, many would have pre-existing conditions.
The short answer is yes, we will try our best to keep the premiums low and affordable. The Government will pay particular attention to those who are in the lower income group and those who are elderly who may no longer be working, and also may not have accumulated sufficient savings because they might have started work many, many years ago. And during those years, their incomes were limited. These people belong to the group we call the Pioneer Generation. We will look after them and make sure that the premiums will be affordable to them, so that they will be covered by MediShield Life.
As I have said, MediShield Life is meant to cover all and to cover for life. If there are people who cannot afford it and drop out of the scheme, it will not be MediShield Life. An important feature of MediShield Life is to ensure that all of us are covered.
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