Conditions Diagnosed through Employer-arranged Health Screenings and Implications on Future Health Insurance Eligibility

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there are human resource (HR) best practice recommendations regarding the provision of health screening to employees whereby the employer has arranged, facilitated or encouraged the health screening; and (b) whether such recommendations include the informed counselling of employees regarding the potential implications for future health insurance eligibility in the event a condition is incidentally diagnosed, even if the condition is deemed benign at the time.

Dr Tan See Leng: Employer-arranged voluntary health screenings are a form of staff benefit offered to employees to help them take care of their health on a preventive basis. It is not mandatory for the employee to undergo the screening.

The HR community has not experienced complications or difficulties in administering such programmes at the firm-level, and there has not been a need to make recommendations on this issue. The Government also does not require health screening providers to counsel individuals undergoing health screening on the potential implications for future health insurance eligibility. This applies whether the health screening is arranged by employers or on an individual’s own initiative.

As such benefits are voluntarily offered by employers and taken up voluntarily by the employees, it is better not to be too prescriptive.