Withdrawal of Hospitalisation and Surgical Insurance Scheme by Statutory Boards
Prime Minister's OfficeSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the withdrawal of hospitalisation and surgical insurance schemes by certain Statutory Boards, with Er Dr Lee Bee Wah raising concerns regarding officers with pre-existing conditions who may lose comprehensive coverage. Minister Chan Chun Sing explained that officers on the MediSave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient scheme receive additional MediSave contributions to purchase portable Integrated Shield Plans facilitated by the Public Service Division at discounted premiums. He noted that while a specific Statutory Board's group plan expired in December 2017, the board is currently working to arrange for an insurer to offer continued coverage for its officers. Minister Chan Chun Sing emphasized that unlike non-portable group plans, the portable benefits provided under the civil service framework remain with officers even after they leave their employment. All Singaporeans remain protected by MediShield Life, and the Ministry continues to review benefit schemes to ensure they remain market competitive for the public service.
Transcript
1 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Prime Minister with the withdrawal of the hospitalisation and surgical insurance scheme by some Statutory Boards (a) whether the Ministry is aware that officers previously on this scheme who have pre-existing medical conditions can only get insurance cover under MediShield Life at Class C and B2 levels and that these officers are unable to buy a rider or upgrade for their medical insurance policies; and (b) whether the Ministry can negotiate with insurance companies to offer a comprehensive coverage for all civil servants, especially those with pre-existing illnesses who had better coverage before the withdrawal.
Mr Chan Chun Sing (for the Prime Minister): Public officers who joined the Service after 1994 are placed on the MediSave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) scheme. This is a portable medical benefit scheme which provides 2% of an officer's monthly salary as additional MediSave contributions, in lieu of hospitalisation benefits, and an annual subsidy of $500 for outpatient treatments. Under the MSO scheme, an officer may receive an additional MediSave contribution of up to $2,730 annually1. The MSO scheme is regularly reviewed to ensure it remains market competitive. In the last review in 2015, the Civil Service increased additional MediSave contributions from 1% to 2%.
All Singaporeans are covered under MediShield Life. On top of that, public officers can use their additional MediSave contributions to purchase Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) to supplement their MediShield Life coverage. In addition, the Public Service Division (PSD) has also appointed a panel of insurance companies to offer portable IPs at discounted premiums to public officers and their dependants. These IPs are individual contracts between the officers and insurers and will continue to cover officers even after they change employers.
Over and above the MSO scheme benefits and PSD's facilitation for public officers and their dependants to take up portable IPs at discounted premiums, one particular Statutory Board (SB) had further arranged for its officers to be covered under a Group Hospitalisation and Surgical (H&S) plan. This is even though there is no obligation to do so. Under H&S plan, the insurance is not portable and will not cover officers after they leave the SB. The H&S plan of the SB expired in December 2017. The SB is working to arrange for an insurer to offer H&S coverage to its officers.