CHAS SUBSIDY LIMITS REGULARLY REVIEWED

We thank Mr Lim Guohao for his letter “Review and enhance Chas subsidies to ensure they keep pace with rising healthcare costs” (Nov 12).

The Ministry of Health regularly reviews the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) to ensure that it continues to help Singaporeans to access affordable healthcare at general practitioner and dental clinics.

In October, we significantly enhanced subsidies for CHAS Orange, CHAS Blue, and Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation card holders for various dental procedures, and introduced subsidies for 10 procedures for CHAS Orange card holders.

Subsidies for permanent crowns for CHAS card holders increased fourfold – from a range of $84.50 to $137.50 to the current $410 to $625. We also introduced dental fee benchmarks to promote fee transparency at CHAS dental clinics and help patients make more informed decisions.

To defray medical bills, we encourage patients to discuss with their healthcare providers the option of being prescribed generic medications, which are less costly than branded medication. 

For those with chronic conditions, we have extended polyclinic-equivalent subsidies to selected commonly used chronic medication since 2024, under the Healthier SG Chronic Tier. 

We appreciate Mr Lim’s feedback and will consider this as we continually review the adequacy of CHAS subsidy limits.

Lee Yi Min         
Director, Subsidy and Subvention         
Ministry of Health