Coverage of MediShield Insurance

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the percentage of Singaporeans currently not covered by MediShield insurance; (b) of these, what proportion comes from (i) the young aged below 21 years; (ii) non-working adults or spouses; (iii) the elderly aged above 75 years; and (iv) people who are excluded due to pre-existing illnesses or congenital anomalies; and (c) what is being done to increase the proportion of insured Singaporeans.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: As of end-2011, over 92% of Singaporeans (about 3.5 million) were covered under MediShield.

Coverage for those below age 21 stood at 94% as at end-2011, up from 55% as at end-2007. This was due to the introduction of a new auto-cover point for newborns in 2007 and a one-time auto-cover exercise for all youths below age 21.

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Of the working-age population aged 21 to 65, 95% are insured under MediShield, up from 89% as at end-2007. The remaining 5% may not be covered by MediShield due to a range of reasons. These would include those who have not held formal employment yet and hence have not been reached by the CPF Board, or opted out of MediShield because they had separately purchased private comprehensive insurance, or already enjoy some employer medical benefits.

Coverage of the elderly aged between 76 to 85 18 years is about two-thirds (65%) of the population.

Those with pre-existing or congenital conditions but are otherwise in good health are able to apply for MediShield coverage for medical treatment not related to their conditions. So far, fewer than 1% of the total resident population was not able to obtain MediShield cover due to pre-existing conditions.

Over the years, CPF Board has intensified its efforts to reach out to the uninsured. Auto-cover points which include (i) at birth; (ii) when one starts work; (iii) at the point of marriage registration help to raise the coverage of MediShield. There are also regular outreach and publicity efforts to encourage Singaporeans to take up MediShield.

For those who are uninsured, heavy Government subsidies and Medisave will continue to help to offset their bills. Those who face difficulty affording their medical bills can also approach the medical social workers at the public healthcare institutions for financial assistance such as Medifund. The Government will also top up the Medisave accounts of Singaporeans from time to time when there is a Budget surplus.