Treatment from Self-inflicted Injuries not Covered under MediShield Life
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms Anthea Ong’s inquiry into the exclusion of treatment for self-inflicted injuries and attempted suicide from MediShield Life and whether this policy will be reviewed. Senior Minister of State Edwin Tong Chun Fai explained that the exclusion is a general rule intended to discourage such behavior, though exceptions are considered for injuries arising from mental illnesses. Ms Ong highlighted that approximately 300 claims were excluded annually between 2016 and 2018, seeking a review to include these injuries under standard coverage. Senior Minister of State Edwin Tong Chun Fai clarified that the Ministry considers exceptions if an existing mental condition pre-disposed the individual to self-harm. The government’s position remains that while the general exclusion stands, clinical factors related to mental health are taken into account during assessments.
Transcript
3 Ms Anthea Ong asked the Minister for Health (a) why is "treatment of self-inflicted injuries or injuries resulting from attempted suicide" not covered under MediShield Life; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider removing this from the standard exclusions under MediShield Life.
The Senior Minister of State for Health (Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai) (for the Minister for Health): Sir, the general rule is that treatment of self-inflicted injuries or injuries resulting from attempted suicide is excluded from MediShield Life, so as to not encourage this kind of behaviour. Nonetheless, exceptions can be considered where such injuries might arise from mental illnesses.
Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member): I thank the Senior Minister of State. In a Parliamentary Question (PQ) that I had filed last month, it was shared that from 2016 to 2018, we had about 300 claims in this category that were excluded every year. Would the Senior Minister of State Edwin Tong please share if there will be a review at least to see if we can include such injuries?
Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: As I had mentioned, we exclude them as a general rule because you do not encourage this kind of behaviour. We do not want to encourage people to self-inflict injuries and that is why MediShield Life does not cover it. Nonetheless, to the extent that these injuries arise as a result of an existing mental condition that might pre-dispose the claimant or the person to inflicting the injuries on himself or herself, in those situations, we can consider exceptions to the general positions.