Healthcare financing -Medishield/Life, etc

[Nzy]

NTUC currently do not have rider that covers 100% for hospital bills, thus they have rider that compensate it by giving cash payout per day when admitted to hospital ( also depending on what rider the person had under NTUC ) .

 

For rider, a layman person can be quite confusing, so best is to check with your financial adviser for advise on what you guys had at least for integrated shield plan. So that you guys will have a better informed decision on what you guys are covered.

 

Then doesn't seem very worth it right? Cuz the deductible is 1500-3000 a year. And the most expensive rider only gives 300 per day. So unless you stay for many days or else still have to pay the deductible and 10% co-payment?

[Enye]

NTUC rider cover 100% cash meh?

 

 

yes if you signed up before they withdrew it

[Shanhz]

$400 a year? that is quite a lot. My medishield is only $216 a year. What is your age group? I am late thirties. I also took the most expensive plan where you can go private and "as charged"

 

i am late thirties. your plan got any deductibles/co-payment? mine is full claim 100%. better than KBW, he pay $8, i pay $0.

[Nzy]

$400 a year? that is quite a lot. My medishield is only $216 a year. What is your age group? I am late thirties. I also took the most expensive plan where you can go private and "as charged"

 

$216 per year for late thirties means u never get the rider right? Still got to pay deductible and 10% co-payment right? Most integrated shield plans can go private and "as charged".

Edited September 24, 2013 by Nzy

[Djim]

MediShield Life - I wondered about the following scenario:

 

1. Those who already have bought private insurance that include health, hospitalisation and life

2. Those who are stationed overseas - if they are sick overseas will medishield life foot their overseas medical bill

3. subsidy or assistance is only for the poorest of citizens, what about those who have a full time job and are stretching every single cent for daily living - remember that medishield life premium increases with age - how does the latter group going to pay

[Goldbug]

MediShield Life - I wondered about the following scenario:

 

1. Those who already have bought private insurance that include health, hospitalisation and life

2. Those who are stationed overseas - if they are sick overseas will medishield life foot their overseas medical bill

3. subsidy or assistance is only for the poorest of citizens, what about those who have a full time job and are stretching every single cent for daily living - remember that medishield life premium increases with age - how does the latter group going to pay

 

they will force people to cancel private insurance?

[Nzy]

they will force people to cancel private insurance?

 

I doubt so right? Maybe those that have no private insurance can get that lo. I think private insurance will still offer more comprehensive coverage but at a higher price.

[Robert90]

.it really saves your pocket. Gahmen puts u on plan b by default. However, you co pay 80%. With just additional loading of not much ALL FR MEDISAVE, and you upgrade to Plan A, you co pay 10%

[Baal]

http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/06/08/gan-dont-worry-about-medishield-life-premiums/

Gan: Don’t worry about MediShield Life premiums

June 8th, 2014 | Author: Editorial

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event to celebrate World Blood Donor Day at Sentosa yesterday (7 Jun), Health Minister Gan Kim Yong assured everyone that MediShield Life premiums will be kept affordable for all segments of the population.

In particular, he stressed that the 1% increase in the employer’s Medisave contribution next year will be sufficient to cover the rise in premiums for the majority of the upper middle-income families when MediShield Life starts.

He said that for those earning at least $5,000 – the income cap for calculating CPF contributions – the additional 1% Medisave contribution will provide $600 a year. This will be enough to cover the increase in premiums for most families in that income bracket, he said.

With more benefits and a higher payout from MediShield Life, premiums will rise but he assured everyone that premiums would be kept affordable for all.

He said:

For the older Singaporeans, the pioneer generation, the Pioneer Generation Package announced recently will ensure that our pioneers don’t need to worry about MediShield Life premiums.

Secondly, the middle- to lower-income Singaporean families, there will be a permanent subsidy structure to ensure that they too will be able to afford the premium for the family.

And for the middle and higher-income Singaporeans, the additional 1% Medisave contribution will go a long way to help them cope with MediShield Life premiums.

For anyone else who may “fall through the cracks”, the government will work out a special scheme to help them, he promised.

He also added that the transitional subsidies, offered over 4 years by the government, will help Singaporeans ease into MediShield Life.

“Because this is a very major shift in the health-care financing framework, the Government is committed to providing sufficient help and support,” said Mr Gan. “The idea is to help as many people as we can.”

Details of MediShield Life’s enhanced benefits and wider coverage were announced by MLRC on Thursday (5 Jun), but there has been no news yet on how much the premiums will cost exactly.

The final report from the committee will be submitted to the government at the end of this month and be debated in Parliament next month.

Government committed to providing sufficient help and support in healthcare

Speaking of the government’s commitment to provide “help and support” to Singaporeans in healthcare, during a parliamentary debate on 12 November 2013, Mr Gan said that the government will do more to enlarge its share of healthcare cost from the current less than one-third to more than 40% (he did not give a time-frame to implement such an increase to 40%).

However, comparing with the data from OECD countries using Gan’s promised 40% figure, the Singapore government is still very much less generous than the governments of OECD countries, preferring Singaporeans to bear more in healthcare cost either through out-of-pocket payments or buying more health insurance themselves:

Expenditure on health by type of financing, 2011 (or nearest year) Public Spending Private out-of-pocket Private insurance Other Private Total Netherlands 85.6 6.0 5.6 2.9 14.4 Norway 84.9 15.1 0.0 0.0 15.1 Denmark 84.7 13.3 1.9 0.1 15.3 Czech Rep 83.9 15.0 0.1 1.0 16.1 Luxembourg 83.0 12.3 3.8 0.9 17.0 UK 82.8 9.9 3.0 4.2 17.2 NZ 82.7 10.9 4.8 1.6 17.3 Japan 81.9 14.6 2.4 1.1 18.1 Sweden 81.6 17.2 0.3 1.0 18.4 Iceland 80.4 18.2 0.0 1.4 19.6 Estonia 80.2 17.8 0.3 1.8 19.8 Italy 77.8 18.0 1.0 3.2 22.2 Austria 77.2 17.0 4.5 1.2 22.8 France 77.2 7.7 14.4 0.7 22.8 Germany 77.0 12.4 9.7 0.9 23.0 Belgium 75.9 19.7 4.2 0.2 24.1 Finland 75.3 19.5 2.2 3.0 24.7 Slovak Rep 73.8 23.6 0.0 2.6 26.2 Slovenia 73.1 12.2 13.6 1.1 26.9 Spain 72.9 21.1 5.7 0.3 27.1 Turkey 72.7 19.2 0.0 8.1 27.3 Poland 70.9 24.0 0.7 4.4 29.1 Canada 69.9 15.5 12.9 1.6 30.1 Australia 68.0 20.4 8.3 3.4 32.0 Ireland 67.0 18.1 11.9 3.0 33.0 Greece 65.9 30.9 2.8 0.3 34.1 Portugal 65.5 28.9 4.9 0.6 34.5 Switzerland 64.9 25.8 8.6 0.8 35.1 Hungary 64.5 26.8 2.7 6.0 35.5 Israel 62.3 24.8 10.1 2.7 37.7 Korea 56.6 36.8 5.8 0.7 43.4 US 48.8 12.1 35.2 4.0 51.2 Mexico 47.3 49.0 3.7 0.0 52.7 Chile 44.9 38.3 16.9 0.0 55.1 OECD34 72.4 19.8 5.9 1.9 27.6

[source]: OECD Health Report

* Private financing of healthcare consists mainly of payments by households (either as standalone payments or as part of co-payment arrangements) as well as various forms of private health insurance.

On average, the share of public spending in healthcare for OECD countries was 72.4% in 2011.

Most of the OECD countries spent more than 50% in terms of share of public spending on healthcare in 2011. The exceptions were: Chile (45%), Mexico (47%) and the United States (49%). Still, their spending was very close to 50%.

As can be seen, the governments of all the OECD countries are still spending more on healthcare as a percentage of public share in health spending compared to the Singapore government, even after factoring in Gan’s new target of 40%.

With the Singapore government being so miserly towards its citizens in terms of healthcare, it is no wonder that regular blood donor and volunteer, Bernard Tan, preferred to help out at the CPF protest in Hong Lim Park than attend the World Blood Donor Day event in Sentosa.

Bernard said (‘A volunteer’s thoughts on 7 June 2014 CPF protest‘):

Elsewhere, there was also a Red Cross World Donor Day 2014. Being a regular blood donor and volunteer, I was invited with discounts and coupons to go to the venue, Sentosa.

I sacrificed going to Sentosa and opted for going to Hong Lim Park instead. I felt much better after I found out that the Guest-of-honors were PAP’s Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Gan Kim Yong!

 

http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/06/08/gan-dont-worry-about-medishield-life-premiums/

[RadX]

SINGAPORE - The MediShield Life Scheme Bill tabled in Parliament on Monday gives wide-ranging powers to the administrator to access people's income and health status without explicit consent from them.

Those who object to having such information accessed have the choice of opting out.

However, those who do so will not be eligible for income-related subsidies for their premiums, nor can they be automatically given a clean bill of health.

The Bill also gives the national insurance administrator the same powers as that of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to recover unpaid premiums, such as through employers or banks.

Such powers are needed because defaults on premiums by people who can afford to pay them will mean a heavier load on other policy holders. Full premiums are payable even by Singaporeans and permanent residents living overseas for long periods.

MediShield Life, which will replace the current MediShield when it starts at the end of this year, will cover everyone regardless of whether they are healthy or sick, for their entire life.

Coverage will be higher with lower co-payments and no lifetime claim caps but premiums will be higher than the current scheme.

Massive government aid, to the tune of $4 billion over five years, will make it highly affordable, the Government has assured. This includes the transitional subsidies which will be given to everyone, rich or poor, for the first four years.

On top of that, two in three people will also get 15-50 per cent permanent subsidies on their premiums. The need to access incomes is to make it easy to identify people who qualify and the amount of subsidy they are entitled to.

Additional help will be given to those who still can't afford the premiums.

For the majority, the higher premiums will be entirely covered by Medisave, with the extra 1 per cent in Medisave contribution from employers that takes effect this month.

People who are currently not covered by MediShield and have pre-existing illness will need to pay 30 per cent additional premiums per year for 10 years, after which they revert to paying the normal premiums for their age band.

To simplify the procedure of identifying people with existing serious illnesses, such as cancer or heart disease, the administrator will have access to hospital data on all Singaporeans and permanent residents.

The Bill also sets out the various penalties for defaulting on payments, providing false information, or wrongfully disclosing information obtained under the authority of the MediShield Life Scheme.

For example, a defaulter who tries to leave the country without paying or providing security, as well as officials who wrongfully disclose information, can be fined $5,000, jailed for up to a year or both.

The penalty for obstructing investigation into offences under the Bill is heavier with a maximum of $20,000 fine and a year's jail.

The Bill also provides for a MediShield Life Council which can review the policy and parameters and recommend changes to the Health Minister to ensure that it continues to provide effective protection to citizens.

The Council, which will likely comprise experts from people, private and public sectors, also has overview of the administration of the scheme.

Dr Chia Shi Lu, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, said he supports the implied consent to verify personal details, as there is provision to refuse access.

He said: "There has been quite a lot of feedback from Singaporeans, and particularly from the elderly, who are unhappy with government agencies repeatedly requesting personal and financial information from them in order to qualify for any number of government schemes."

He and his parliamentary colleagues have often been asked why government agencies do not share information - as will now be done with MediShield Life.

- See more at: Parliament: MediShield Life Scheme Bill gives wide-ranging powers to administrator - Singapore Health News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

 

[Nolicense]

any one carrying PR and citizenship and not in Singapore for too long and don't care what is happening here because cannot be bothered or in a nursing home without a care in the world..... when it is time to pay up and they don't and the gahmen go after them... ho say liao...

 

better drop the PR and citizenship like hot potatoe.

 

on the other hand gahmen also eyeing extra premium from all the new PR.

 

GDP huat ah!

[Kusje]

Hmm, under this new medishield life, what will happen to my private integrated plan? Is it auto-converted or do I have to buy a new one again (which I presume the insurance companies will start to offer)?

 

What if I have some pre-existing condition and can't get onto the new one (although I currently already have the private integrated plan)?

[Goldbug]

Hmm, under this new medishield life, what will happen to my private integrated plan? Is it auto-converted or do I have to buy a new one again (which I presume the insurance companies will start to offer)?

 

What if I have some pre-existing condition and can't get onto the new one (although I currently already have the private integrated plan)?

Medishield life only cover B2, and does not include deductibles

 

You have to buy private shield plans and riders for B1 upwards and to cover deductibles

 

Existing conditions are cover by paying 30% more premium for 10 years, and normalised premium in the 11th year if there is no remission of the condition

[Angcheek]

OVERSEAS SINGAPOREANS WHO DO NOT PAY MEDISHIELD LIFE PREMIUMS MAY BE JAILED

 

Serious ???

[Sabian]

OVERSEAS SINGAPOREANS WHO DO NOT PAY MEDISHIELD LIFE PREMIUMS MAY BE JAILED

 

Serious ???

 

If staying overseas and never coming back then give up the citizenship lor.

Then no need to pay liao lor.

Problem solved.

 

Or want to behave like those damn 1 kind of FT don't want NS, CPF, Medishield premiums, etc but want the security, widely accepted passport, etc?

[Ender]

OVERSEAS SINGAPOREANS WHO DO NOT PAY MEDISHIELD LIFE PREMIUMS MAY BE JAILED

 

Serious ???

 

Jail??? Abit too serious.. Got criminal record leh..

[Jman888]

OVERSEAS SINGAPOREANS WHO DO NOT PAY MEDISHIELD LIFE PREMIUMS MAY BE JAILED

 

Serious ???

 

Source?

[Ladykillerz]

I think the recent case where we need to update our household information is a poor management.

The respond of total reported are rather quite poor. Should have done better in this exercise.

 

Includes the link from CNA, Link

Edited June 26, 2015 by Ladykillerz