MEDIFUND ASSISTANCE ENSURES ACCESSIBLE HEALTHCARE FOR SINGAPOREANS

1. The Medical Endowment Fund (MediFund) provided a total of $156.5 million through 1,239,578 successful applications to assist needy Singaporeans with their medical bills in Financial Year (FY) 2018.

2. MediFund assists Singaporean patients who are unable to afford their medical bills, after government subsidies, MediShield Life and MediSave. MediFund Silver and MediFund Junior provide more targeted assistance for the elderly and children respectively. MediFund ensures that no Singaporean will be denied appropriate medical care due to an inability to pay.

3. $156.5 million in MediFund assistance was provided in FY2018 to assist patients with their medical bills, as compared to $149.8 million in FY2017. On average, the amount of MediFund assistance provided was $917 per inpatient treatment, and $87 per outpatient treatment.

4. The key statistics of MediFund assistance provided in FY2018 are:

(i) The number of approved MediFund applications grew to 1,239,578 from 1,179,525 in FY17, a 5.1% increase;

(ii) In public hospitals and institutions, a total assistance of $124.2 million was provided to patients, compared to $119.9 million in FY17; and

(iii) In Intermediate and Long-term Care facilities, a total assistance of $32.3 million was provided to patients, compared to $29.8 million in FY17.

5. More details can be found in the Medical Endowment Scheme Annual Report 2018/2019 here.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
26 NOVEMBER 2019