Insurance for newborns with congenital illnesses

Question

Name of the Person: Simon Pelz

Insure all newborns, regardless of health condition

WHEN my wife was expecting our first child, we tried to sign up for an insurance plan for hospitalisation. But we discovered we had to wait for our child's birth, so insurers could check on our baby's health condition and determine if the risk involved would affect their profitability if they let us sign on. When our child was unexpectedly born with a minor physical defect, insurers refused to let us take up a hospitalisation plan.

The rejection basically means that parents who plan responsibly for the arrival of their newborn are precluded from medical insurance coverage. Not only is such a policy unfair to parents and their newborn, but it contradicts the Government's prime aim of arresting Singapore's plunging birth rate by persuading couples to have babies. Ours, we were told, is not an isolated case and many other parents are in a similar predicament.

Having a sick child without health insurance coverage has a substantial impact on the parents' financial situation, and ultimately becomes a burden to society. We hope the Government will act to reverse this anti-childbirth policy, so future newborns will be automatically granted health insurance, regardless of their medical condition. Such a reversal will make Singapore a more childbirth-friendly environment.

25 Feb 2010, The Straits Times

Reply

Name of the Person: Karen Tan (Ms)
Director, Corporate Communications
MOH

In "Insure all newborns, regardless of health condition" (ST, 18 Feb), Mr Simon Pelz felt that it is unfair to exclude congenital conditions from insurance coverage of newborns.
Today, private insurers exclude certain pre-existing medical conditions to ensure viability of the insurance scheme and to keep premiums affordable for existing members who had entered the scheme in good health. Some may choose to have a waiting period, before covering congenital anomalies.

In 2007, MOH introduced automatic MediShield coverage for all newborn Singaporean citizens and permanent residents. Although MediShield currently does not cover congenital conditions, we are sympathetic to the plight of those born with such illnesses. We would like to get them insured but MediShield premiums will need to increase. There are two ways to help these patients: through MediShield so the healthy cross-subsidise those with congenital conditions, and/or through government subsidies and Medifund whereby taxpayers help fund their bills. The former will require an increase in MediShield premiums, while the latter will raise the tax burden. On the other hand, if MediShield premiums become too high, more people, especially the healthy, may opt out, and the long-run sustainability and affordability of the MediShield risk pool will be compromised.

Mr Pelz had shared that his child was born with only a “minor physical defect”. We invite Mr Pelz to contact MOH at moh_qsm@moh.gov.sg with more information on the specifics of his case, and we will assess if his child can be covered with basic MediShield.

Meanwhile, we will continue to look after those with congenital illnesses via government subsidies and Medifund. Patients can also use Medisave for inpatient treatment.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH