The Singapore Government is committed to keep healthcare costs low and to ensure that no one is denied medical treatment because they could not afford it. Medisave, Medishield and Medifund are the three pillars of our healthcare financing system to ensure no Singaporean is being left out. Here, we explain these three pillars in more details.
Medisave
Medisave is a national savings scheme to help individuals save part of their money for their medical expenses or their immediate family members' hospitalisation bills. Medisave can be used in public hospitals, national specialty centres and polyclinics. It covers daily ward charges, daily treatment fees, investigations and medicines during hospitalisation stay. You can also make use of it to pay for your Medishield Life premiums which will help to cover large hospital bills and expensive outpatient treatment. Furthermore, you can use Medisave to pay for outpatient treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke and even osteoporosis, to name a few.
Medishield Life
Medishield Life is a basic health insurance administered by CPF Board, which helps to pay for large hospitalisation bills and costly outpatient treatments. The coverage extends to treatment in Class B2/C wards of public hospitals and even those who choose to stay in Class B1/A in a private hospitals. Starting from 1 November 2015, Medishield Life will cover protection for ALL Singaporeans and Permanent Residents for life even though they may have pre-existing conditions. The Government has also announced plans to provide support to keep premiums affordable through subsidies to lower to middle-income groups and Pioneer Generation members.
Medifund
Medifund is the final step to ensure that the healthcare financing system leaves no one uninsured. It is an endowment fund set up by the Government to help needy Singaporeans who are unable to pay for their medical expenses after utilising both Medisave and Medishield Life.
These are the three key tenets of our healthcare financing system which have benefitted many Singaporeans and Permanent Residents.
