REMARKS BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COORDINATING MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICIES, AT DOORSTOP INTERVIEW ON MOH COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY DEBATE 2026 ANNOUNCEMENTS

1.               Thanks everyone for coming. First, I want  to wish everyone – men and women – a happy International Women’s Day. Today I am invited by Ms Poh Li San to attend one of her events – one of her many events here in Sembawang West.

2.               We just finished our budget and Committee of Supply (COS) debates. It has always been an intense period. A lot of news. Everyday there’s so many news in the newspaper. It is very hard to decipher what is important and what is less important. But I thought just to add a bit more to my COS speech amidst all the different news that have come out and now that everything is settled.

3.                I announced three policy adjustments. I do not want to repeat them or elaborate. But I just felt, upon reflection, that actually these are important breakthroughs. Not huge policy changes but important breakthroughs. Because it questions and reexamines some of our long-existing assumptions, policy assumptions.

4.               Take for example, we are now prepared to cover and extend MediShield Life to cover preventive surgeries. Something we have never done before. But because of the advancement of science, particularly in genomics and AI, there is now possibility to do so because you save on painful treatment later on. And it is also cost-effective, it actually does not impose any financial burden to the system.

5.               Secondly, we are also recognising that MediSave no longer just has one traditional objective. When MediSave was implemented decades ago, the main objective is for us to save up for a rainy day should we need surgery, emergency surgery, or in our old age, when we need long hospital stays. And today with lifespans getting longer, we are also recognising that MediSave has a dual objective. The second objective being to be able to practise good preventive care and manage our chronic diseases effectively. So we now need to juggle these two objectives within the MediSave system.

6.               And lastly, we are now harnessing technology, particularly AI and genomics, to better deliver healthcare. In particular, in preventive health. Now our vision, if we do this well, appropriately and responsibly, I think it is possible to have a personalised, predictive and preventive care system. And I think that would be a major addition to our healthcare.

7.               So I thought to add these additional points, which I think are significant to this year’s COS debate.