Medisave withdrawals go up

THE daily Medisave withdrawal limit for community hospital patients will be raised from $150 to $250 from June 1, and the annual cap on withdrawals will also go up from $3,500 to $5,000, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced in Parliament on Tuesday.

The higher withdrawal limits will reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of patients, benefiting both the sub-acute patients as well as those with multiple admissions to community hospitals within a year.

Mr Khaw said some 7,000 patients will potentially benefit from the move, and over 75 per cent of them will be able to pay their full bill using Medisave. Together with the enhanced nine-tier subsidies introduced last July and the MediShield cover, the final bill could be much smaller, he added.

On the revised withdrawal limits, he said they are in line with the expansion of the community hospitals sector to make such care more affordable for sub-acute patients, such as those with fractures, and elderly with kidney and urinary tract infections.

'Traditionally, such patients are kept in acute hospitals where their Medisave withdrawal limits are higher, at $450 per day. But it makes sense for the patients to be transferred to a community hospital where the total operating cost is lower,' explained the minister.

'However, current withdrawal limits may deter such patients from moving to community hospitals because of higher out-of-pocket payments. The adjustments should make it cheaper for sub-acute patients to move from an acute hospital to a community hospital.'

Further, to help patients such as those suffering from stroke or fracture, to pay for day rehabilitation services, Mr Khaw said the daily Medisave withdrawal limit for this payment will be raised from $20 to $25.

'Being able to access good rehabilitative care near their homes after their discharge will make a significant difference to patients' recovery and subsequent quality of life,' said Mr Khaw. 'We are working with the providers to raise the clinical standard of community-based rehabilitation care. We will involve more skilled therapists in the delivery of care and establish individual care plans and improved outcome monitoring to help ensure patients receive the care they need.'

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]