The Singapore Parliament has passed the CareShield Life and Long-term Care Bill that makes it compulsory for Singaporeans born in 1980 or later to enrol in the long-term disability insurance scheme. The new scheme starts next year.

The CareShield Life and Long-Term Care Bill provides the legislative framework for the establishment, governance, and administration of the CareShield Life Scheme, and also facilitates the implementation of other long-term care financing measures for the severely disabled I mentioned earlier.

CareShield Life will make a starting payment of S$600 ($430) per month, significantly higher than under the existing long-term care plan, ElderShield. Payouts will increase over time under CareShield Life, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). ElderShield pays out S$300 or S$400 per month, for up to six years,

Policyholders who prefer coverage higher than those provided by CareShield Life or better benefits can buy supplements from private insurers.

The scheme will be optional for older cohorts of Singapore citizens and permanent residents born in 1979 or earlier, and they can join the Scheme if they do not have pre-existing severe disability.

ElderShield review

CareShield Life follows a review of ElderShield which was introduced in 2002 as a basic long-term care insurance scheme. In 2016, the ElderShield Review Committee was set up to look into how greater financial support can be given to Singaporeans who become severely disabled during old age. After rigorous deliberation and extensive public consultation, the Committee submitted its recommendations for CareShield Life to the government last year.

The ElderShield scheme, which is currently administered by private insurers, will be transferred to the government to be managed on a not-for-profit basis. The transfer will be done in mid-2021, together with the launch of CareShield Life for those older Singaporeans born in 1979 or earlier. Existing supplements administered by the private insurers will not be transferred to the government.

ElderFund

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that the government will enhance its support for long-term care through the establishment of ElderFund in January 2020. ElderFund will be a discretionary government assistance scheme for low-income, severely disabled Singapore citizens who are aged 30 and above. It will provide up to S$250 per month especially to those who are unable to join CareShield Life and face financial difficulties in meeting their long-term care needs.

This is in addition to existing subsidies of up to 80% for long-term care services, such as nursing homes, and various other government disability assistance schemes.

Around mid-2020, the government will also be extending the use of MediSave (mandatory individual healthcare savings accounts)by allowing Singaporeans to withdraw cash from their own and spouses’ MediSave accounts for their long-term care needs. Severely disabled Singaporeans who are at least 30 years old will be able to make cash withdrawals of up to S$200 a month, from their own and their spouses’ MediSave accounts, to support their long-term care needs.