Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Medisave
Under the scheme, every employee contributes 6.5-9% (depending on age group) of his monthly salary to a personal Medisave account. The savings can be withdrawn to pay the hospital bills of the account holder and his immediate family members.
An account holder may use his Medisave to pay the hospitalisation and certain outpatient expenses incurred at any hospital in Singapore. He may use his Medisave savings for himself and as well as his immediate family members.
Medisave can be claimed only if the patient stays in the hospital for at least 8 hours (unless the patient is admitted for day surgery).
From 2002 onwards, only self-employed persons who earn more than $6,000 a year would need to contribute to Medisave. As the self-employed are required to contribute to Medisave based on the previous year's net trade income, this would apply to income earned during and from 2002 onwards.
The amount of Medisave they are required to contribute is capped based on an annual income ceiling of $60,000 for income earned in 2005 and $54,000 for income earned in 2006.
credits: (https://www.moh.gov.sg/)
Medifund
Medifund Silver, with a set up capital sum of $500 million, was launched in November last year in restructured hospitals and institutions. In 2007, a total of $6.1m has been disbursed to these institutions to help needy patients under Medifund Silver. In April 2008, Medifund Silver will also be rolled out to the rest of the Medifund-approved institutions in the Intermediate and Long-Term Care sector to benefit more elderly patients.
With an ageing population, the Ministry of Health had decided to carve out a portion of Medifund as Medifund Silver to deliver assistance to needy elderly patients in a more targeted manner. Any Singaporean 65 years or above can apply for Medifund Silver which like Medifund serves as a safety net of last resort to those who are unable to afford basic healthcare despite heavy government subsidies, Medisave and MediShield.
In 2006, about one-third of the 290,000 beneficiaries of Medifund were over the age of 65. Demand for such financial aid by elderly Singaporeans is expected to grow as the number of Singaporeans over 65 years is estimated to grow to 336,400 by 2010.
Elderly needy patients who have problems paying their medical bills can approach the Medical Social Workers of Medifund-approved restructured hospitals, national centres for assistance. Local Medifund committees at the approved hospitals and institutions will decide on the appropriate level of assistance for the applications.
(credit: http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/hcfinancing.aspx?id=308)Medishield
MediShield is a low cost catastrophic illness insurance scheme. Introduced in 1990, the government designed MediShield to help members meet medical expenses from major illnesses, which could not be sufficiently covered by their Medisave balance. MediShield operates on a co-payment and deductible system to avoid problems associated with first-dollar, comprehensive insurance.
Premiums for MediShield can be paid by Medisave. A very large medical bill can easily wipe out your Medisave balance, as it is only a savings account. For this reason, you are advised to take up MediShield or an appropriate private Integrated Shield Plan in order to stretch your Medisave dollars. Your co-payment and deductibles can also be paid using Medisave or cash.
MediShield will cover up to 80% of your large medical bill at the Class B2/C level.
For Singaporeans who plan to use Class B1 or higher ward classes, you may wish to consider purchasing Medisave-approved private Integrated Shield Plans on top of your Medishield. MediShield and other Medisave-approved private Integrated Shield Plans are designed to cater to your different insurance coverage needs.
MediShield is operated by the CPF Board.
MediShield is designed to help Singaporeans pay their hospital bills incurred in subsidised Class B2/C wards. Thus, bills incurred in Class A, B1 or B2+ wards in restructured hospitals, as well as bills incurred in private hospitals, are pro-rated and not fully covered. Members who receive reduced subsidies in B2/C wards will also have their bills pro-rated to the full-subsidy bill size.
Example:
A patient staying in Class C incurs a bill of $8,000. If all the expenses are within the MediShield claimable limits (A), the total claimable amount is $8,000.
(B) Deductible
As he is staying in a Class C ward, the deductible payable by the policyholder is $1,000.
(C) Co-insurance
The co-insurance he has to pay is computed as follows:
- 20% of the claimable amount from $1,001 to $3,000: 20% x $2,000 = $400
- 15% of the claimable amount from $3,001 to $5,000: 15% x $2,000 = $300
- 10% of the claimable amount above $5,000: 10% x $3,000 = $300
Hence, the total co-insurance payable is $1,000 (i.e. $400 + $300 + $300).
(credits: http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/hcfinancing.aspx?id=306)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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