WHILE I applaud the implementation of MediShield Life, I cannot help but feel that this comes at the expense of Integrated Shield Plan (IP) policyholders ("Changes to Medisave"; Tuesday).
From the risk-reward perspective of the insurer, premiums would have to increase to compensate for the higher risk.
I am glad that the Government is willing to subsidise the premium hike for the first five years.
But what happens thereafter?
Currently, Central Provident Fund (CPF) members up to age 65 can use up to $800 of their Medisave funds annually to pay for their IP premiums.
So, it came as a shock to me to learn that when MediShield Life is launched, under the two-tier Medisave payment system, an IP policyholder with an annual premium of $640, for example, will have to fork out $155 in cash.
Under the current system, this $640 could have been fully deducted from Medisave.
The change is unfair to the IP policyholder who does not have any pre-existing illness and is 100 per cent covered by the IP.
What is wrong with the current system of allowing up to $800 of premiums to be deducted from Medisave?
MediShield Life should be viewed as a basic plan to complement IPs, which provide higher-quality healthcare, especially given today's chronic bed shortages.
But the changes seem to be discouraging IPs, since, when the rider is included, the policyholder will have to fork out so much more in cash than the current situation.
This could result in more people crowding public hospitals, given the lower cost there.
With MediShield Life and full-coverage IPs, there will be less need to tap Medisave to pay for medical bills.
We should be allowed to use the funds accumulating there to pay for IP premiums when MediShield Life kicks in. Tay Kim Lee
From the risk-reward perspective of the insurer, premiums would have to increase to compensate for the higher risk.
I am glad that the Government is willing to subsidise the premium hike for the first five years.
But what happens thereafter?
Currently, Central Provident Fund (CPF) members up to age 65 can use up to $800 of their Medisave funds annually to pay for their IP premiums.
So, it came as a shock to me to learn that when MediShield Life is launched, under the two-tier Medisave payment system, an IP policyholder with an annual premium of $640, for example, will have to fork out $155 in cash.
Under the current system, this $640 could have been fully deducted from Medisave.
The change is unfair to the IP policyholder who does not have any pre-existing illness and is 100 per cent covered by the IP.
What is wrong with the current system of allowing up to $800 of premiums to be deducted from Medisave?
MediShield Life should be viewed as a basic plan to complement IPs, which provide higher-quality healthcare, especially given today's chronic bed shortages.
But the changes seem to be discouraging IPs, since, when the rider is included, the policyholder will have to fork out so much more in cash than the current situation.
This could result in more people crowding public hospitals, given the lower cost there.
With MediShield Life and full-coverage IPs, there will be less need to tap Medisave to pay for medical bills.
We should be allowed to use the funds accumulating there to pay for IP premiums when MediShield Life kicks in. Tay Kim Lee
