<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Medical cover for foreign workers may be raised
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HEALTH Minister Khaw Boon Wan is considering raising the amount of insurance that employers must buy for foreign workers who are on work permits.
He said the $5,000 minimum, set at the beginning of last year, might no longer be adequate.
He made this point at a dialogue yesterday when presented with a scenario involving a maid who had incurred $10,000 in medical expenses while she was covered for only half that amount.
Mr Khaw agreed that such cases were becoming more common and even shared his own tale of an employer who had gone to see him. Her Filipino maid had died from tuberculosis after three weeks in an intensive care unit (ICU).
'For some reason, it was not picked up at the medical check-up...but whatever it was, the poor lady succumbed to tuberculosis, and spending three weeks in an ICU is very costly,' he said. The bill came up to $20,000, he added.
When the $5,000 threshold was set, data showed that only one in 10 foreign workers was racking up bills of more than $5,000.
Mr Khaw said it was no longer uncommon for that amount to be exceeded. He noted: 'We may have to think about raising $5,000 to something else. A lot depends on how much the premium increase will be.'
He said that when he bought coverage of up to $20,000 for his own maid, he found the increase 'quite inexpensive'. 'It was just an extra few dollars a month...Pay a few dollars more a month, you have peace of mind,' he said.
Mr Khaw then took a quick survey of the more than 100 people at the dialogue, asking for a show of hands from those who supported a move for higher insurance cover for foreign workers.
More than half raised their hands.
=> So, it's approved on this basis?
Seeing the response, he said: 'Quite substantial. We'll think about that; let me discuss with (Acting Manpower) Minister Gan Kim Yong to see how we should do that.'
Mr Khaw made it clear that the change would cover all foreign workers, not just maids.
'The scheme applies to all work permit holders, so factories and all will be covered as well,' he said.
Last year, Singapore had 757,000 work-permit holders, including maids.
When contacted, Madam Margaret Tan, who pays about $50 a year in insurance premiums for her maid, said the existing minimum of $5,000 was good enough.
Said the 59-year-old executive: 'I've had maids for 20 years and not once have they needed to use their medical coverage.'
JEREMY AU YONG
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HEALTH Minister Khaw Boon Wan is considering raising the amount of insurance that employers must buy for foreign workers who are on work permits.
He said the $5,000 minimum, set at the beginning of last year, might no longer be adequate.
He made this point at a dialogue yesterday when presented with a scenario involving a maid who had incurred $10,000 in medical expenses while she was covered for only half that amount.
Mr Khaw agreed that such cases were becoming more common and even shared his own tale of an employer who had gone to see him. Her Filipino maid had died from tuberculosis after three weeks in an intensive care unit (ICU).
'For some reason, it was not picked up at the medical check-up...but whatever it was, the poor lady succumbed to tuberculosis, and spending three weeks in an ICU is very costly,' he said. The bill came up to $20,000, he added.
When the $5,000 threshold was set, data showed that only one in 10 foreign workers was racking up bills of more than $5,000.
Mr Khaw said it was no longer uncommon for that amount to be exceeded. He noted: 'We may have to think about raising $5,000 to something else. A lot depends on how much the premium increase will be.'
He said that when he bought coverage of up to $20,000 for his own maid, he found the increase 'quite inexpensive'. 'It was just an extra few dollars a month...Pay a few dollars more a month, you have peace of mind,' he said.
Mr Khaw then took a quick survey of the more than 100 people at the dialogue, asking for a show of hands from those who supported a move for higher insurance cover for foreign workers.
More than half raised their hands.
=> So, it's approved on this basis?
Seeing the response, he said: 'Quite substantial. We'll think about that; let me discuss with (Acting Manpower) Minister Gan Kim Yong to see how we should do that.'
Mr Khaw made it clear that the change would cover all foreign workers, not just maids.
'The scheme applies to all work permit holders, so factories and all will be covered as well,' he said.
Last year, Singapore had 757,000 work-permit holders, including maids.
When contacted, Madam Margaret Tan, who pays about $50 a year in insurance premiums for her maid, said the existing minimum of $5,000 was good enough.
Said the 59-year-old executive: 'I've had maids for 20 years and not once have they needed to use their medical coverage.'
JEREMY AU YONG
