Medical Costs of Foreign Domestic Workers

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will review the rule that employers must bear all medical costs of their foreign domestic workers especially where the medical treatment is not related to the work of the worker.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Singapore has a sizeable number of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) who provide essential caregiving and household support to families. In setting out the rules of their employment, we seek to ensure they get proper care while in Singapore and establish clear lines of responsibility.

Employers are responsible for their FDWs’ medical care, as long as the FDW remains in Singapore. To ensure that they can cope with large bills, employers are required to purchase medical insurance to provide coverage of at least $15,000 for their FDWs, to cover hospitalisation episodes regardless of how the need arose. In other words, the hospitalisation insurance covers both treatment for both work-related and non-work-related conditions. This amount has been sufficient to cover about 95% of all hospitalisation bills incurred by FDWs over the past three years. Employers can also opt for higher coverage from their insurance provider.

Employers who face financial difficulty paying for the hospitalisation bills of their FDWs may approach medical social workers at the hospitals for assistance. Beyond hospitalisation expenses, employers of FDWs may assess the benefit of further insurance coverage in the same way all employers can voluntarily do so.