Sunday, July 29, 2012

Medishield = Medishit


Once upon a time the deductible for Class C was $500 and Class B was $1000. As with all other CPF link policies, Medishield is so ill conceived and patch work needs to be done ever so often. Most of us citizens lost track of the numerous revisions since its implementation in the 1990s. Looks like each time the deductible is revised, it goes up by $500. This strategy will allow all the government privatised hospital to have free rein to jack up their medical fee while keeping the numbers of eligible claimants to the minimum.

Once upon a time the premium ranges from $12 to $240 (upper age limit was 75 years old then). The premium is always on the rise as insurance contract with the CPF is very flexible and all goal posts are perpetually shifted to extract the most from the public.

Medishield was revised in 2008, just 4 years ago. They are revising it again in 2012.  The deductible will be up by $500 for both Class C and B patients. Thus, the lower income group have to cough out $1500 medical expenses, which is very heavy.

The elderly citizens are the worst off with each revision.  In 2008 revision, the premium range went from $30-705 to $33-1123. The premium increased was the highest for the senior age group - 59% vs 10% increase for the youngest age group.

In 2008, the deductible was not revised for those below 80 years old. But for those between 81 to 85, the deductible for both Class C and B saw an increase of 100% ! Class C deductible went from $1000 to $2000, while Class B went from $1500 to $3000. Those in this age group likely need more medical attention. For those in the lower income range, probably they have used up the bulk of their retirement savings. Yet they are penalised the most.

This time round reporting from main stream media (MSM) did not mention this category. Not sure if it is affected or not as MSM always try to avoid and downplay reporting on unpopular government policies.

What we find incomprehensible is that Medishield has accumulated a surplus of $100 million due to premiums exceeding payouts. Why are they still bleeding us dry when they are so bloated up with our blood already ?

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