More received help through Medifund in 2012: MOH

SINGAPORE — More needy and elderly patients received aid through the Medical Endowment Fund (Medifund) last year, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced today (Nov 14).

MOH said that more than S$100 million in Medifund aid was provided to needy patients in 2012, an increase of about 12 per cent from the S$90 million a year ago.

S$86 million of the amount went to patients in the acute sector while S$16 million went to those in the Intermediate and Long-Term Care (ILTC) sector.

Needy elderly patients received S$33 million in aid, an increase of 19 per cent from the last fiscal year.

Over 587,000 Medifund applications were approved last year, MOH said. About 93 per cent of the successful applications received full assistance. On average, the amount of assistance was S$1,471 for inpatient treatments, and S$107 for outpatient treatments.

Medifund was introduced to assist needy Singaporeans with their medical bills, on top of government subsidies, Medisave and Medishield. In 2012, the Government injected S$600 million into the Medical Endowment Fund, bringing its total size to S$3.08 billion in capital sum, MOH said.