Medisave expanded to cover five more chronic conditions

SINGAPORE — From next year, more Singaporeans can expect to benefit from subsidised general practitioner (GP) and dental care, as well as greater medical coverage with treatment for more types of chronic diseases to be covered under Medisave.

Medisave usage will be expanded to include five more chronic conditions — including anxiety, degenerative joint diseases and Parkinson’s disease — pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations for high-risk groups and neonatal screening tests for newborns, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday as it also signalled that the claim limits for large hospitalisation bills could be raised under the new MediShield Life scheme.

Public consultation on MediShield Life, which will cover all Singaporeans for life, will begin in the fourth quarter, MOH said.

And, in a greater push towards preventive healthcare, the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), which offers subsidies at GPs forneedy Singaporeans, will be extended to some health screening tests, such as for diabetes.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced during the National Day Rally that the qualifying age of 40 years and above for the CHAS will be removed. Yesterday, MOH said that the scheme’s income ceiling was raised with immediate effect: For those carrying the blue CHAS card, the new per capita monthly household income ceiling is S$1,100, up from S$900. For those with orange cards, the cap is between S$1,101 and S$1,800, up from between S$901 and S$1,500. The colour of the cards indicates the subsidy tier patients are entitled to.

Charges at specialist outpatient clinics in public hospitals will also be cheaper for the lower and middle-income groups, as their subsidies will go up.

At a press conference, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said his ministry had allocated an additional S$10 million to its budget to cater to the changes under the CHAS.

Mr Gan added that the MOH will continue to review the Medisave scheme on extending its coverage. Previously, he had cited health screenings and more outpatient treatments as possible areas. But as Medisave covers more conditions and procedures, “we may need to raise Medisave contribution rate when the economy permits ... we don’t have immediate plans to do so”, he said.

Minister of State (Health) Amy Khor said that the additional chronic conditions were selected based on feedback from the public and the medical fraternity. The additions will bring the total number under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) to 15. These diseases can now also be subsidised under the CHAS, up to S$480 each year. With these additions, close to 90 per cent of chronic conditions are covered, up from 80 per cent. Dr Jeremy Lim, Principal Consultant at Insights Health Associates, felt that all chronic conditions should eventually be covered under Medisave - a suggestion that was made in a paper on healthcare affordability put up earlier this month by the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Health. Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Chia Shi-Lu, a member of the GPC, said that discussions with MOH are still ongoing regarding coverage for other chronic diseases. While he felt that the current list is already quite extensive, he added: “I do think some neurological conditions could be included, as some may lead to mental conditions such as dementia.”

Sengkang West MP Lam Pin Min, who chairs the GPC, said that even if the coverage is expanded eventually to include all conditions, the annual withdrawal limit of S$400 per account should remain to “prevent premature depletion of the Medisave account”.