MediShield Life Updates

The MediShield Life Review Committee made public its final report on Friday, and the government has accepted the report and recommendations.

The Committee is chaired by Mr Bobby Chin and the Labour Movement is represented by its President, Ms Diana Chia.

The aim of MediShield Life is to give all Singaporeans better protection for life.

Here’s a quick recap of some of the key recommendations.

Better Protection

MediShield Life pays more, patients will pay less

• No more Lifetime Claim Limit
• Higher daily claim limits from $450 to $700 a day
• Higher cancer treatment claim limits
• Lower co-insurance rates from 10 to 20 per cent to 3 to 10 per cent

Coverage For All

MediShield Life will cover ALL – those uninsured, previously excluded and the very elderly. It will protect those with pre-existing conditions. The government will pay 75% of the additional costs to cover everyone.

Affordable Premiums

Government will help to ensure premiums are affordable and will be done in five ways:

• The Pioneer Generation subsidies
• Premium subsidies for the lower to middle income whereby up to two-thirds of Singapore households will qualify
• Transitional subsidies for all Singapore citizens
• Additional premium support for those who need more help
• Government will bear the bulk of costs of covering pre-existing conditions

Premiums Covered By Medisave

The government assures that premiums can be fully covered by Medisave and no upfront cash is needed. The additional 1% that employers will be contributing towards workers’ Medisave accounts in January next year will fully cover increases in MediShield Life premiums for most Singaporeans.

The LM Push For Portable Medical Benefits

One topic that the Labour Movement has been pushing for is for employers to implement portable medical benefits for their workers.

On that subject, the committee has recommended that employers be encouraged to provide portable medical insurance built on MediShield Life.

In its wide-ranging report, the Committee said it received many questions from many Singaporeans about how MediShield Life would interact with employer medical benefits.

The Committee consulted unions and employers through the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), and the Public Service Division.

In its final report, the Committee has called on employers and unions to work together to reduce duplication of coverage between employer medical benefits and MediShield Life.

It said the suggestion is in line with recommendations received from the National Wages Council, NTUC and SNEF.

In its guidelines released in May 2014, the National Wages Council had encouraged employers and unions to look into appropriate measures to boost their employees’ ability to pay for their MediShield Life premiums.

Noting the importance of portable employer medical benefits, both SNEF and NTUC called for a review on the potential duplication of employer medical benefits with MediShield Life, and a review of the incentives for employers to take up portable medical benefits.

So the Medishield Life Review Committee has made the following observations and suggestions:

It says employers can demonstrate their support for the long-term well-being of their employees by initiating the process to switch to portable medical insurance.

Union leaders can play an important role to help their members better appreciate that portable medical insurance is more beneficial for the welfare of workers in the longer-term.

That way, the committee said workers can carry the health insurance coverage into their retirement, when they are most likely to need it.

The Committee also recommended that the Government consider strengthening incentives to companies who are willing to provide portable medical benefits that ride on MediShield Life for their employees, as there will be costs involved in the restructuring of employer medical benefits.