Use of Medical Subsidy for Haze-related Ailments

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Health to date, how many people have utilised the $10 subsidised scheme to seek treatment for haze-related consultations at participating GP clinics and whether there has been an increase in the number of clinics that have signed onto the scheme.

In an effort to help Singaporeans better cope with medical ailments that may arise as a result of the haze, MOH introduced a haze subsidy scheme on 21 June  2013. Under this scheme, Singaporeans who are elderly, children or in the lower income group are eligible for a subsidised fee of $10 if they are seen at participating General Practitioner (GP) clinics, or at the polyclinics, for respiratory or eye conditions due to the haze. The rest of the bill will be subsidised by the Government.

The utilisation of the haze subsidy scheme was tracked by number of claims made by each participating clinic. Thus far, under the scheme, participating GP clinics have seen around 8,200 attendances for haze-related conditions, with another 2,600 attendances at the polyclinics.

The number of participating GP clinics has steadily increased, from 200 clinics at the inception of the scheme, to more than 650 clinics today.