Healthcare Support for Young Adults with Chronic Conditions outside CDMP Coverage

Mr Shawn Loh asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether existing outpatient subsidies are adequate for younger adults who require specialist care for chronic conditions that remain outside the Chronic Disease Management Programme list; and (b) whether the Ministry can allow such patients greater flexibility to use MediSave for outpatient treatments and services for diagnostic scans and screenings given the elevated risk of additional complications for such conditions.

In general, subsidies at public Specialist Outpatient Clinics are differentiated by per capita household income, rather than age, so that more help can go to lower income families. For lower income patients who have more complex conditions with higher outlay, they can access additional Government support such as MediFund.

MediSave can be used to pay for certain costly outpatient treatments, such as outpatient scans to diagnose and treat medical conditions, including those not listed on the Chronic Disease Management Programme. We will be raising the annual MediSave limit for scans from $300 to $600 from 1 January 2026. MediSave is also extended to cover screenings that are clinically and cost-effective for the population.