Average waiting time for Medifund approval and downgrading

8 July 2013

Question No. 1234

Name of Person: Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef

Question

To ask the Minister for Health what is the average time frame that patients have to wait to get clearance or approval for Medifund use in respect of new applications and to downgrade from a specific class to another in the restructured hospitals.

Answer

        Patients in need of Medifund assistance are first assessed by the Medical Social Workers and the amount of assistance is subject to the approval of the Medifund committees. Over the last three years, over 90% of the approved applications were provided full assistance.

        The processing time for each application varies. The assessment can be made within a week if the information provided is complete. Complex cases that require counselling, interviews with family or a more detailed assessment of the patient’s medical condition will take longer. However, this does not affect patients who need urgent treatment. They would be provided the appropriate treatment, even as the application for Medifund is being processed.

        Similarly, the hospitals assess requests for downgrading from private to subsidised services according to the patient's financial need. After obtaining complete financial information, the assessment is generally completed within one to two days.