Medishield insurance gets improvements
Posted by jtsmyth8 on April 4, 2008
For $10 more a month, most people will no longer have to pay huge out-of-pocket payments for big hospital bills.
Now, the Medishield insurance scheme pays only about 55 per cent of big bills in the subsidised B2 and C class wards. This means that a patient with a $10,000 a bill has to fork out $4,500.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan wants the patient’s share to be lower, at about 20 per cent. So he is almost doubling the maximum payouts, making the announcement after launching the job fair for the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Yishun on Thursday.
Premiums will go up by less than $5 a month for those younger than 60 years, and by less than $10 for people aged 60 to 80.
Dr Fatima Lateef, who is on the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Health, said the increase in premiums was ‘very reasonable’ and the ‘reduction in out of pocket payment would be a great welcome.’ (story)
