MediFund hands out S$164m in FY2021 to help needy S'poreans pay for medical bills, S$7.2m more than previous year
SINGAPORE — To help needy Singaporeans offset their medical bills, the Medical Endowment Fund (MediFund) disbursed S$164.1 million in the 2021 financial year ending March 31 this year, which is S$7.2 million higher than the year before, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (Nov 30).
SINGAPORE — To help needy Singaporeans pay for their medical bills, the Medical Endowment Fund (MediFund) disbursed S$164.1 million in the 2021 financial year ending March 31 this year, which is S$7.2 million higher than the year before, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (Nov 30).
The increase in assistance offered was primarily due to the increase in patient visits to public healthcare institutions when Covid-19 restrictions eased in the previous financial year, the ministry added.
Introduced in 1993, MediFund is a safety net for Singaporean patients who, despite the availability of government subsidies, as well as other means of payment including MediShield Life and MediSave, are still unable to afford their remaining medical bills.
"MediFund ensures that no Singaporean will be denied access to basic medical care due to inability to pay," said the ministry in its statement to the media.
The fund was enhanced with MediFund Silver in 2007 and MediFund Junior in 2013 to provide more targeted assistance for the elderly and children.
MOH added that there were around 1.24 million approved applications in the 2021 financial year, which was a 7.4 per cent increase from the 1.15 million applications recorded in the previous year.
The total number of applications — including rejected applications — increased by 5.7 per cent over the same period.
Giving a breakdown of the amounts disbursed, MOH added that the total amount of assistance to patients at public healthcare institutions provided rose to S$128.6 million in 2021, compared with S$120.3 million in the preceding year.
On the other hand, the total amount of assistance provided to patients in intermediate and long-term care facilities fell from S$36.6 million in 2020 to S$35.5 million in 2021.
On average, the amount of MediFund assistance provided was S$912 per inpatient treatment, and S$95 per outpatient treatment, MOH said.