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Khaw's bypass surgery: $8
By Fiona Low
HEALTH Minister Khaw Boon Wan paid just $8 after recent bypass surgery, and it was because he had signed up for the MediShield scheme and had an additional shield supplement from a private insurance company.
He wrote about the experience in a post on his blog - mohsingapore.blogspot.com - yesterday.
In the post, he likened health insurance schemes, such as MediShield and ElderShield, to umbrellas that help Singaporeans weather rainy days.
According to the minister, reforms in recent years, such as increasing the MediShield payout from 56 per cent to 66 per cent of large hospital bills in 2008, have helped these insurance plans reach out to more in the population.
The number of uninsured young Singaporeans has fallen from 45 per cent in 2007 to 17 per cent last year as a result of school programmes to reach out to the young.
Some 88 per cent of Singaporeans are now protected by MediShield and of these, 58 per cent have topped up with a private shield plan for hospitalisation in Class A wards and private hospitals.
Subscription to ElderShield, the long-term disability insurance, has also increased almost 15 per cent since 2007, from 789,000 to 906,000. Of these, 19 per cent have topped up with private ElderShield supplements to enjoy higher payouts.
However, Mr Khaw said that these 'umbrellas' need regular servicing and strengthening to remain effective.
Some of the possible policy changes mentioned in the blog post include extending MediShield to include mental illness, congenital illness and neonatal treatment.
People have been able to charge outpatient treatment for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and major depression to Medisave since last year. However, it is still not applicable to MediShield.
Another issue that he said was under consideration was raising the monthly basic payout and extending the payout period for ElderShield.
The scheme currently pays $400 monthly for up to a period of six years when someone cannot do without physical help.
Dr Lily Neo, a Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC, had questioned the adequacy of ElderShield earlier this year.
Mr Khaw said then that the payout was enough for the low-income group. But he would like to see it doubled to $800 a month, possibly by getting people to start paying premiums when they are 30 or 35 years old, instead of the current 40.
The post also raised the idea of finding ways to reward Singaporeans for adopting a more healthy lifestyle overall.
He said these ideas were brought up over an informal lunch dialogue with health insurers, and described the discussion as 'a productive exchange' that would help shape future health-care policies.
[email protected]
By Fiona Low
HEALTH Minister Khaw Boon Wan paid just $8 after recent bypass surgery, and it was because he had signed up for the MediShield scheme and had an additional shield supplement from a private insurance company.
He wrote about the experience in a post on his blog - mohsingapore.blogspot.com - yesterday.
In the post, he likened health insurance schemes, such as MediShield and ElderShield, to umbrellas that help Singaporeans weather rainy days.
According to the minister, reforms in recent years, such as increasing the MediShield payout from 56 per cent to 66 per cent of large hospital bills in 2008, have helped these insurance plans reach out to more in the population.
The number of uninsured young Singaporeans has fallen from 45 per cent in 2007 to 17 per cent last year as a result of school programmes to reach out to the young.
Some 88 per cent of Singaporeans are now protected by MediShield and of these, 58 per cent have topped up with a private shield plan for hospitalisation in Class A wards and private hospitals.
Subscription to ElderShield, the long-term disability insurance, has also increased almost 15 per cent since 2007, from 789,000 to 906,000. Of these, 19 per cent have topped up with private ElderShield supplements to enjoy higher payouts.
However, Mr Khaw said that these 'umbrellas' need regular servicing and strengthening to remain effective.
Some of the possible policy changes mentioned in the blog post include extending MediShield to include mental illness, congenital illness and neonatal treatment.
People have been able to charge outpatient treatment for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and major depression to Medisave since last year. However, it is still not applicable to MediShield.
Another issue that he said was under consideration was raising the monthly basic payout and extending the payout period for ElderShield.
The scheme currently pays $400 monthly for up to a period of six years when someone cannot do without physical help.
Dr Lily Neo, a Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC, had questioned the adequacy of ElderShield earlier this year.
Mr Khaw said then that the payout was enough for the low-income group. But he would like to see it doubled to $800 a month, possibly by getting people to start paying premiums when they are 30 or 35 years old, instead of the current 40.
The post also raised the idea of finding ways to reward Singaporeans for adopting a more healthy lifestyle overall.
He said these ideas were brought up over an informal lunch dialogue with health insurers, and described the discussion as 'a productive exchange' that would help shape future health-care policies.
[email protected]
