MediShield paid $1,438 of $50,000 hospital bill

28 Nov 2006, The Straits Times

Question

Name of the Person: Chew Kai Hwa (Ms)

MediShield paid $1,438 of $50,000 hospital bill

ALL citizens who have contributed to Medisave qualify for health insurance, in the form of MediShield. 

This is so that, with rising health-care costs, they have insurance to fall back on when they are taken ill. 

However, what happened to my mother-in-law recently proved unsettling. 

My mother-in-law was admitted to Gleneagles Hospital following a heart attack and the specialist there recommended that she undergo a bypass immediately. Unfortunately, she died without regaining consciousness. 

Now we are laden with medical bills of more than $50,000. 

As my mother-in-law was covered under MediShield, we expected at least a small portion of the bills to be taken care of by the insurance. 

However, after a long wait, the Central Provident Fund Board has granted us a payout of only $1,438, less than 3 per cent of the total bill. How is the payout determined? 

By subscribing to MediShield, we expect that it would help us to cover some of our medical costs but it is not of much help when the payout is so little. 

I hope the authorities will look into this issue. 

We are not asking for welfare - just a reasonable payout from MediShield.

Reply

Reply from MOH

Why MediShield paid only $1,438 of huge bill In "MediShield paid $1,438 of $50,000 hospital bill" (ST, 28 Nov), Ms Chew Kai Hwa asked why MediShield could not pay a larger portion of her mother-in-law's hospital bill at Gleneagles Hospital. MediShield Basic is meant to help members pay for their hospital bills incurred at subsidised Class B2/C wards. As Ms Chew's mother-in-law was covered under MediShield Basic plan only, it would not fully cover the hospitalisation bill for her stay at a private hospital. For those who want additional protection to cover stays in private wards or hospitals, there are rider products that can be purchased to complement the MediShield Basic plan. These enhanced Medisave-approved insurance plans are offered by 5 private insurers and a listing of such plans is available on the MOH website at www.moh.gov.sg. As there are many medical insurance plans, it is important, when choosing the type of plans to buy, to take into account the choice of hospital wards, the type of coverage desired and the affordability of premiums. Thank you.