ANNUAL VALUE OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY AND PER CAPITA HOUSEHOLD INCOME ARE FAIR AND OBJECTIVE BASIS FOR MEANS TESTING

We thank Yap Eng Lip for the letter (“Medical Subsidies After Retirement”, 27 March 2025).

The Ministry of Health uses Annual Value (AV) of residential property as a proxy of means for individuals with no household income. While not perfect, in the absence of household income, AV is generally a good reflection and the best available objective basis to assess an individual’s means, with those living in private properties being better off than those living in HDB flats, and those living in bigger flats better off than those living in smaller flats.

Individual circumstances can sometimes lead to significant change in subsidy levels. Seniors who encounter this can approach the medical social workers at the public healthcare institutions where they are seeking care, to assess their specific circumstances and provide appropriate assistance.

We would also like to assure that the Ministry regularly reviews and refines our healthcare subsidy criteria to ensure that assistance reaches those in need. We appreciate Mr Yap’s feedback and will take them into consideration in our regular reviews.

Mr Lee Yi Min

Director (Subsidy and Subvention)

Healthcare Finance Group

Ministry of Health

交流站：房屋年值是经济状况评估的公平客观依据

谨答复《联合早报·交流站》于3月27日刊登的叶永立读者投函《退休后的医药津贴》：

我们感谢叶先生的投函。

卫生部使用房屋年值（annual value），作为没有家庭收入的个人的经济状况替代指标。这么做虽不完美，但在没有家庭收入的情况下，房屋年值通常能较好地反映，并且是目前评估个人经济状况的最佳客观依据。住在私宅的人通常比住在组屋的人富裕，而住在大型组屋的人通常比住在小型组屋的人富裕。

个人情况有时会导致津贴水平发生显著变化。遇到这种情况的年长者，可以向他们就医的公共医疗保健机构的医疗社会工作者求助，以评估他们的具体情况，并提供适当的帮助。

我们也向公众保证，卫生部会定期检讨和完善医疗津贴标准，确保有需要的人能得到援助。我们感谢叶先生的反馈，并会在定期检讨时予以考虑。

卫生部

保健财务团

补贴及资助政策司长

李毅民