Changes To The Medisave Scheme

31 May 2001

During this year's Budget debate, the Minister for Health announced that adjustments would be made to the Medisave withdrawal limits. Since Medisave was introduced in 1984, the Ministry of Health regularly reviews the Medisave withdrawal limits to ensure that they keep pace with rising costs. The adjustments are to help ensure that Singaporeans are able to withdraw sufficient Medisave to cover their medical bills.

Adjustments to the Medisave Withdrawal limits

The following Medisave withdrawal limits would be revised:

(a) Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment The annual Medisave withdrawal limit for psychiatric inpatient treatment would be increased from $3,000 to $3,500. The daily withdrawal limit remains unchanged.

(b) Chemotherapy The Medisave withdrawal limit for a 7-day treatment cycle would be raised from $100 to $300, while the limit for a 21/28-day treatment cycle would be raised from $400 to $1,200. The annual Medisave withdrawal limit of $3,000 would also be removed.

(c) Radiotherapy The annual Medisave withdrawal limit of $3,000 would be removed. The other Medisave withdrawal limits for radiotherapy would remain unchanged.

(d) Renal Dialysis The monthly withdrawal limit would increase from $400 to $450.

(e) Assisted Conception Procedures The Medisave withdrawal limit would be raised from $2,000 to $4,000 per treatment cycle. The use of Medisave claims would still be restricted to 3 treatment cycles per lifetime.

(f) Anti-retroviral drugs for HIV patients The Medisave withdrawal limit for anti-retroviral drugs would increase from $500 to $550 per month.

(g) Hospices The Medisave daily withdrawal limit for hospices would be raised from $100 to $125.

Please see below attachment for the adjustments. All other Medisave withdrawal limits remain unchanged.

The revised Medisave annual withdrawal limit for inpatient psychiatric treatment and the lifting of the Medisave annual withdrawal limits for radiotherapy and chemotherapy would apply with effect from calendar year 2001 onwards. The rest of the revised Medisave withdrawal limits would apply to patients starting their treatments on or after 1 June 2001.

Revision of Medisave Minimum Sum and Contribution Ceiling for Government Pensioners

The Ministry has completed its review on the requirements of Medisave minimum sum and Medisave contribution ceiling for Government pensioners. It has concluded that certain Government pensioners, who are eligible for medical benefits, do not require as much Medisave savings as the average Singaporean elderly to meet their hospitalisation expenses. As such, the Ministry has decided to make the following changes with effect from 1 July 2001:

Government Pensioners on Fixed Amount of Ward charges scheme (FAW)¹.

The Medisave minimum sum and Medisave contribution ceiling would be lifted.

Government Pensioners on Co-Payment on Ward charges scheme (CPW)².

The prevailing Medisave minimum sum and Medisave contribution ceiling would be halved³.

There would be no changes to the current Medisave minimum sum and Medisave contribution ceiling requirements for government pensioners under the Comprehensive Co-Payment scheme (CCS).

¹Pensioners who retire before 15 September 1980 would be under the FAW scheme. Under this scheme, the pensioner and his dependants receive generous medical benefits. Their medical bills are capped at $8 per day should they be hospitalised in a public hospital. Outpatient treatment incurred at public medical clinics is free.

²This scheme was introduced on 15 September 1980. Pensioners under the CPW scheme and their dependants would only need to co-pay 20% and 50% of the ward charges respectively. As with the FAW scheme, pensioners and their dependants are given free outpatient treatment at public medical clinics.

³Currently, the Medisave minimum sum and contribution ceiling are $19,000 and $24,000 respectively. As they will be raised to $21,000 and $26,000 respectively from 1 July 2001, the revised Medisave minimum sum and contribution ceiling for CPW pensioners would be $10,500 and $13,000 respectively with effect from 1 Jul 2001. As the Medisave minimum sum and contribution ceiling will be raised by $2,000 a year to reach $25,000 and $30,000 respectively in 2003, the Medisave minimum sum and contribution ceiling for CPW pensioners would also increase by $1,000 a year to reach $12,5000 and $15,000 respectively in 2003.

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