More Singaporeans to benefit from expanded Primary Care Partnership Scheme (PCPS)

15 Dec 2008

From 1 Jan 2009, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will expand the Primary Care Partnership Scheme (PCPS) in two ways to benefit more patients.

2. First, PCPS will be extended to cover three chronic diseases - Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension (high blood pressure) and Lipid Disorders (e.g. high cholesterol). Currently, PCPS only covers acute conditions.  This will benefit needy elderly Singaporeans as they can avail themselves of easy access to their neighbourhood doctor for both acute and chronic conditions at subsidised rates.

3. Second, MOH has raised the PCPS eligibility criteria from $700 to $800 per capita monthly household income, thus benefiting more Singaporeans.

4. With the revised income eligibility criteria and expanded coverage of chronic diseases, 80,000 Singaporeans could potentially benefit from the expanded scheme.

Patient Benefits

5.  In line with the vision of ‘One Family Physician for every Singaporean’, the expanded PCPS will enable patients to receive holistic care for both their acute (e.g. coughs and colds) and chronic conditions from their neighbourhood GPs. A GP who knows his patient’s medical history will be better able to advise the patient on medications, precautions and lifestyle changes to help better manage his overall health. Until now, some of these patients visited their neighbourhood GP for minor ailments, but would visit the polyclinic for long-term management of their chronic illnesses like diabetes. This is not only inconvenient for patients but may also result in fragmentation of care.

6.  For the treatment of chronic diseases, patients under PCPS will be given an annual subsidy of up to $240 or $360, depending on whether they are suffering from one or more chronic diseases, and the severity of their condition(s). Patients should check with their doctor on the likely fees that they will be charged prior to consultation, as the treatment required would vary according to the number and severity of their condition. Patients can reduce their out-of-pocket costs for treatment of chronic diseases under the PCPS.  As the scheme is aligned with the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP), they can also draw on their Medisave to co-pay their bill after deducting the PCPS subsidy for chronic conditions.

7. Patients will also be able to receive subsidised care when they are referred from PCPS-GPs to Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs) at Restructured Hospitals (RHs).

GP Participation

8.  The extension to chronic diseases will enable GPs to provide more holistic care to their needy patients.  By aligning PCPS with CDMP, GPs will be able to better manage their patients’ chronic diseases by providing care based on well-established evidence-based treatment and a structured disease management programme.

9.  The GP community has been supportive and enthusiastic about this extension of PCPS to bring chronic and acute conditions under the same programme. Since registration for the extended PCPS opened in September 2008, 315 GP-clinics have signed up to date.  MOH encourages more GPs to sign up. They can do so easily by going to the MOH website (http://www.mediclaim.moh.gov.sg/mmae/PCPSOverview.aspx).

Patient Eligibility and Application

10. Eligible Singaporeans can visit their nearest Community Development Council (CDC) or Community Centre/Club (CC) to apply for a Community Medical Benefits (CMB) Card, which they can use to receive subsidised treatment under PCPS. Residents on the Public Assistance (PA) scheme administered by the People’s Association would also be able to receive treatment under PCPS. Clinics on PCPS can be easily identified with the PCPS logo (see below), which will be displayed on the clinic doors. 

Ministry of Health

15 December 2008