Medisave balances and assistance to pay for Medishield premiums

17 Oct 2005

Question No:  254  

Question

Name of the Person: Mdm Halimah Yacob, MP for Jurong GRC

To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether Singaporeans above 65 years have adequate Medisave balances to take care of their medical needs; and (b) whether there will be any help given to assist needy elderly Singaporeans who are likely to be inactive CPF members to pay for their Medishield premiums, which are now higher and in view of the extension of the Medishield maximum coverage age to 85?

Reply

Reply From MOH

Singaporeans who are above 65 have an average Medisave balance of $5,300, which is not insignificant. It is enough to cover 17 years of MediShield premiums, or 5 average Class C hospitalisations for the elderly. 

But it is below the Medisave Minimum Sum of $27,500. This is partly because Medisave was introduced in 1984 and the present cohort of elderly Singaporeans did not have enough time to build up their Medisave balances. Future generations of such elderly Singaporeans should fare better. 

Meanwhile, the Government has helped to top up their Medisave accounts whenever the budget allows it. Over the past 10 years, it has made 6 rounds of Medisave top-ups, totalling $1.32 billion. On each occasion, the Government gave the elderly more Medisave top-up than it did the rest. The most recent top-up was made in July this year, specifically to help Singaporeans cope with the increase in MediShield premiums. 

In any case, elderly Singaporeans are not helpless. Many have means of support, either from their own savings or from their families. For example, 60% of the elderly have their medical bills paid from their children's Medisave accounts. 

In addition, we have Medifund to help those who are unable to pay for their hospital bills despite heavy Government subsidies, Medisave and MediShield. As Members are aware, we are progressively building up the Medifund to $2 billion.