Ever since the announcement of Medishield Life at the National Day Rally, many people have been discussing about the changes and the impact to their medical coverage.

If you have been wondering how Medishield Life scheme will affect you and your family, this article is for you.

Currently most Singaporeans are covered under Medishield – the nation’s medical insurance scheme. However, many are still worried about falling seriously ill and being saddled with large hospital bills. This is especially so those who are not insured under MediShield and those aged above 90 who are no longer covered by MediShield.

To help address  these concerns and give better protection against large bills, MediShield will be revamped to become MediShield Life.

What are the changes?

Some key features of Medishield Life that were highlighted include

• Coverage for life.
• Coverage for pre-existing conditions
• Cover all Singaporeans with no more opt- out
• Higher benefits and coverage levels

Who will be impacted

• Elderly Singaporeans who are approaching age 90 will enjoy more peace of mind knowing they will continue to be covered even after 90 yrs old.
• The 8% of Singaporeans who are not currently covered by Medishield, either because they opted out or didn’t have CPF.
• Those with pre-existing illness that were previously not covered under Medishield can now stand a chance to have some form of coverage for their medical conditions.

How will this affect me?

If you are currently on basic Medishield, you can look forward to better protection against large hospital bills with enhanced benefits under Medishield Life. However, the exact details of the enhancements still needs to be worked out and can only be finalized in 2015.

If you have already upgraded your Medishield plan or purchased a private Integrated Shield plan, chances are the impact to your coverage will not be very significant.

The reason is private Integrated Shield plans typically provide much higher coverage limits and more comprehensive benefits than the basic Medishield.

For example, one of the key changes is that Medishield Life will provide cover for life  instead of ending after age 90 under the current Medishield. Most of the private integrated shield plans are already offering coverage for life and their claims limits are much higher than basic Medishield.

What about the premiums?

It has been announced that an increase in premiums is inevitable. Understandably, this is a key area of concern for many, especially when it comes to the affordability for the elderly and lower income group.

Some form of relief will come from the government’s subsidises of Medishield premiums for those who cannot afford them. There would also be a new Pioneer Generation package for the elderly to get help in paying for the premiums.

Awaiting more details

Much work still needs to be done before the details of the enhancements and premiums can be finalised.

Public consultation to be done over the next few months to gather feedback from the public and the scheme is expected to be ready by 2015. I will share updates on the Medishield Life changes along the way as more is revealed.

For now, the Medishield benefits and limits (as of Mar 2013 update) will stay. Those who would like to have more comprehensive coverage, and have the choice of seeking treatment in private hospitals or stay in Class A/B1 ward can consider upgrading Medishield to a private Integrated Shield plan.

To your Success and Happiness,

Yong Hui