Sir, the discussion over Portable Medical Benefits has been going on for many years now. The reasons why portability of medical benefits is important have by now become well known.
Competitive pressure and technology change leads to constant restructuring in the economy and churn in the labour market. A worker must be prepared to move through several jobs with different employers in the course of his working life.
While his first employer may provide medical cover for him, the same may not be the case for subsequent employers. The provision and extent of medical cover by employers vary widely.
So what happens to a worker should he fall ill in between jobs or when he works for an employer who does not provide medical cover?
Then there is the related concern over expected rise in healthcare costs due to an aging population and workforce. Put simply, expected higher medical costs will be yet another reason why employers will put off employing an older worker. If we cannot sort this problem out, the re-employment prospects for older displaced workers will get worse over time.
For this reason, the Labour Movement has been pushing hard on this subject over the years. Unfortunately, there has not been much real progress. Report after report, committee after committee, but not enough real progress. Time is ticking away, and the challenges will only get bigger.
I was therefore delighted when the Minister for Health said yesterday that his Ministry is seriously studying how to put in place a national health insurance system that goes beyond coverage for catastrophic illnesses. Such a system will be portable.
I believe that this new development will finally provide the much-needed platform and breakthrough for implementing Portable Medical Benefits for the workforce.
I would like to ask the Minister for his assessment of the status of PMBS implementation by companies so far. I would also like to ask the Minister what steps will his Ministry be taking to further spur the adoption of PMBS by companies, and how will his Ministry be working with the Ministry of Health to dovetail the PMBS requirements into the national health insurance system that is now being planned.
