Medifund Continues to Provide Safety Net for Needy Singaporeans' Healthcare Needs

1             The Medical Endowment Fund (Medifund) provided a total of $143.9 million through 1,136,413 successful applications in assistance to needy Singaporeans on their medical bills in Financial Year (FY) 2016.

2.            Medifund was set up in April 1993 to assist needy Singaporean patients who are unable to afford their medical bills, after government subsidies, MediShield Life, Integrated Shield Plans (IPs), and Medisave. Medifund ensures that no Singaporean will be denied appropriate medical care due to an inability to pay.

3.            To provide better support to needy Singaporeans who need additional assistance, Medifund Silver and Medifund Junior were introduced in 2007 and 2013 respectively to better target assistance towards elderly and children from needy families respectively. Medifund has also been progressively extended to cover more healthcare services, such as primary care at the polyclinics, dental services, and antenatal and delivery services. To encourage right-siting of patients, Medifund has also been extended to non-residential Intermediate and Long-Term Care (ILTC) services such as day rehabilitation, home medical and home nursing services.

4.            The use of Medifund is approved by an independent Medifund Committee at each institution, following a comprehensive assessment and recommendation by a Medical Social Worker. 99.9% of the Medifund applications submitted to the Medifund Committees were approved in FY16, and about 91.2% of the approved Medifund applications received full assistance.

5.            Medifund utilisation has reduced in FY2016 compared to FY2015, partly due to the introduction of MediShield Life in November 2015, which has provided Singaporeans with better protection for life. On the other hand, Medifund support for outpatient services increased. Key statistics of Medifund assistance provided in FY2016 are as below:

             (i)        In total, $143.9 million in Medifund assistance was provided in FY2016 to help patients with their medical bills, as compared to $155.2 million provided in FY2015. In public hospitals and institutions, $40.9 million and $78.0 million of Medifund assistance was provided in FY2016 for inpatient and outpatient care respectively, compared to $55.5 and $73.7 million in FY15. In ILTCs, Medifund assistance totalled to $25.1 million in FY2016 compared to $26.0 million in FY2015;

             (ii)       1,136,413 applications for Medifund assistance were approved in FY 2016, compared to 1,096,628 applications in FY2015;

             (iii)      An average amount of $1,124 per inpatient treatment and $79 per outpatient treatment in Medifund assistance was provided, compared to $1,529 and $77 respectively in FY2015;

6.            As at end FY2016, the respective capital sums for Medifund and Medifund Silver stood at $2.78 billion and $1.22 billion.

7.            More details can be found in the Medical Endowment Scheme Annual Report 2016/2017 hereopens in a new window [PDF, 6604KB].

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

27 NOVEMBER 2017

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

23 NOVEMBER 2016