Allowing Parents to Use Cash to Pay for Children’s MediShield Life Plan Premiums

87 Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will consider allowing parents to use cash to pay for their children’s MediShield Life plan premiums; and (b) if not, why.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: Today, MediShield Life premiums can only be paid using MediSave as this is the preferred option for most Singaporeans, and is not cost-efficient to set up a cash payment system for a very small minority.

If there are insufficient funds in MediSave accounts, members may top up their or their dependants’ MediSave accounts via the CPF Board’s e-Cashier using PayNow or eNets Debit. Nevertheless, if there is demand for new payment modalities, such as through GIRO, we will study it.