Conditions Eligible for Treatment Subsidies under Chronic Disease Management Programme

11 Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Health (a) how are feedback and requests from the public, medical professionals, and Members of Parliament weighted when considering whether a condition should be included in the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) to be eligible for treatment subsidies; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider creating an additional category to subsidise treatment costs of non-CDMP conditions such as glaucoma which if left untreated can impair the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living of senior persons.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health (Ms Rahayu Mahzam) (for the Minister for Health): Mr Speaker, conditions under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) are regularly reviewed by the Clinical Advisory Committee (CAC). Most recently, gout, allergic rhinitis and chronic hepatitis B were added to the CDMP from 1 July 2022.

In selecting conditions for review for inclusion in the CDMP, feedback and requests from medical professionals, the public and Members of Parliament are taken into account. The CAC consults clinical experts and considers factors such as disease prevalence, potential benefits of early intervention to patients' outcomes and the availability of evidence-based clinical guidelines for appropriate care of the condition.

Eligible patients seeking care for non-CDMP chronic conditions, including glaucoma, can still receive up to 75% subsidies at polyclinics and Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs). Seniors aged 60 and above can also tap on Flexi-MediSave to pay up to $300 per year for the treatment of their non-CDMP chronic conditions at polyclinics, SOCs or the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) clinics. Patients who cannot afford the remaining co-payment after subsidies and MediSave can apply for further financial assistance, such as MediFund at public healthcare institutions. No Singaporean will be denied access to appropriate healthcare due to an inability to pay.

Mr Speaker: Ms Carrie Tan.

Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon): Mr Speaker, I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary Rahayu Mahzam for her response. I would like to clarify whether the Ministry of Health is looking at any plans to review the medical subsidy system to also factor in conditions that may not currently be classified as chronic, but has a significant impact in potentially affecting the activities of daily living for elderly, given that if we do not mitigate this condition, the caregiving costs that will be incurred will be significant in the long run. And that it is imperative to help elderly residents be able to manage this condition which affect their mobility and independence of living much more upstream.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: Mr Speaker, I appreciate the concerns raised by the Member. Since the introduction of the CDMP in 2006, there has been a gradual expansion of chronic conditions which are covered by CDMP. The CAC meets quite regularly, and they do review different conditions over time.

In the past few years, looking at the different revisions that have happened, there is a frequency of about changes that happen in every three to five years. So, I think this will be a continuing effort on our part to look at all the different data and information to see what are the other conditions that can be included.

The Member raised a point about looking ahead and considering how some of these conditions will impact people. Indeed, this is the thinking behind how we review the conditions that are included under CDMP because we do look at the disease burden and how the complications can arise if there is no early intervention. We look at the availability of evidence-based clinical guidelines for the appropriate care. So, these are all things that we do consider. In fact, we take into account some of the downstream effect if some efforts are not taken in to put in place.

I do appreciate the Member's feedback. In fact, her inputs are useful because, as I mentioned earlier, even inputs from the Members of Parliament are also taken into account as we review the subsidies under all our different frameworks as well as CDMP.