Allow more to be used to pay community hospitals; up the withdrawal limits for those with more children

13 May 2006, The Straits Times

Question

Name of the Person: Yeo Boon Suan

Allow more to be used to pay community hospitals; up the withdrawal limits for those with more children

Allow more to be used to pay community hospitals MY GRANDMA recuperated at St Luke's Hospital from Jan 13 to Feb 18 this year after a year's stay at the National University Hospital.Her son, the only one who is still working among her three surviving children, could not pass the means test required for subsidised hospital fees. We were told by St Luke's Hospital that the total amount of Medisave funds we could use for her hospital stay is $3,500 per calendar year. To date, I have already paid $2,226.64 from my Medisave account for her stay at St Luke's. Therefore, if she needs to be warded at St Luke's or any other community hospital again, which could happen anytime this year as she is in her late 80s and is quite feeble, we would be allowed to draw only $1,273.36 from Medisave. The rest of the hospital fee will have to be paid in cash. This will put quite a burden on my uncle as well as those grandchildren who can help with the payment for her hospital stay.Can the Ministry of Health look into removing or increasing the ceiling for Medisave withdrawals for stays in a community hospital per calendar year? We, her grandchildren, could then help to pay for her next hospital stay.All of us are in our mid-30s and early 40s and have our own families to take care of and housing loans to repay but would love to help to take care of our grandma. If we can use our Medisave to pay, it would be less of a drain on our finances. Chng Lay Hoon (Ms) 

Up withdrawal limit for those with more children RECENTLY my mum suffered sudden cerebella bleeding and I had her treated at a private hospital's Aandamp;E department. Two operations were carried out during her 24-day stay in hospital. Her medical bill came up to $48,000, of which only $12,200 could be paid through Medisave. My mum has 10 children and each of us has almost $30,000 of Medisave savings so the $12,200 bill was paid through the various Medisave accounts.The balance of $36,000 had to be paid in cash and this posed a challenge for us. I would like to appeal to the Central Provident Fund Board to raise the Medisave withdrawal limit for every additional child a patient has.For example, for a family with three adult children, the limit could be raised to $550 per day, instead of the standard $400. This would also encourage families to have more children.

Reply

Reply from MOH 

Medisave withdrawal limits enough to cover most billsWe refer to the queries on Medisave withdrawal limits by Mr Yeo Boon Suan "Up withdrawal limit for those with more children" and Ms Chng Lay Hoon "Allow more to be used to pay community hospitals" published in ST on 13 May.Medisave is primarily designed to help Singaporeans ensure that they have sufficient savings for their hospitalization expenses, especially during old age. To prevent premature depletion of Medisave, there are withdrawal limits for various treatments and surgeries. These withdrawal limits are reviewed periodically to ensure that they sufficient to cover the majority of the bills incurred.Mr Yeo had asked that we increase the Medisave withdrawal limits for patients who have more children. We would like to clarify that Medisave withdrawal limits are set at a level where they are sufficient to pay for hospital bills at B2 and C Class wards. On 1st April this year, the daily withdrawal limit was raised from $300 to $400. This will cover more than 90% of B2 and C Class ward bills. Majority of patients will benefit from this increase. For large bills, such as the $48,000 bill indicated in Mr Yeo's letter, Medisave would not be sufficient. This is where medical insurance can help pay for such large bills. For Singaporeans who are covered under Medishield and/or other Medisave-approved insurance, a significant portion of the bill would be covered by the insurers. Last year, MediShield was reformed to help such patients save money on their bills. Their share of the hospital bill has now been halved, from 60% to 30%. The remainder can then be paid using Medisave and/or cash. We would like to take this opportunity to urge all Singaporeans to subscribe to MediShield (or its private sector equivalent). If they do, and together with heavy subsidy by government and Medisave, there is no need to worry about hospital bills. Ms Chng had asked that we review the annual Medisave withdrawal limit for community hospitals. We are in the process of reviewing the Medisave withdrawal limits for step-down care and would consider her feedback carefully.We thank both Mr Yeo and Ms Chng for their feedback.