Singapore government health insurance MediShield Life payouts hit $800m in 2017: PM Lee

About 200,000 Singaporeans benefited from the payouts.

MediShield Life payouts in 2017 amounted to $800m, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his speech during the National Day Rally 2018. Close to 200,000 Singaporeans benefited from the said payouts, he said.

MediShield Life is a basic health insurance plan administered by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board which is a compulsory comprehensive savings plan for Singaporeans.

The scheme aids in payment for large hospital bills and selected costly outpatient treatments including dialysis and chemotherapy for cancer.

According to Lee, Singaporeans are spending more on healthcare partly because of more advanced and more sophisticated equipment.

“But the bigger reason is because Singaporeans are living longer and growing older which means we are likely to have episodes of illness and more medical problems to treat,” he explained.

In this regard, he noted that the upgrade from MediShield to MediLife “is a big move to protect Singaporeans” from unexpected events as it has no lifetime claim limit.

He said that Medisave, Medisure, and Medifund will target to help Singaporeans’ changing healthcare needs.

According to a video shown during the National Day Rally, the Singapore population is approaching ageing as 1 in 7 Singaporeans are aged 65 years or older. By 2030, it is expected that 1 in 4 Singaporeans will belong to the said age group.