The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Thursday, March 5, that the patients managing long-term conditions such as hypertension and stroke will soon be able to draw more from their MediSave accounts for outpatient treatment and preventive care.
As per the announcement, the current MediSave500/700 scheme will be renamed the MediSave Chronic and Preventive Care scheme and will offer higher annual withdrawal limits from January 1, 2027.
Under the revised framework, patients can withdraw up to S$700 a year for outpatient treatments, vaccinations and health screenings, up from S$500. Those with more complex chronic conditions will be able to use up to S$1,000 annually, an increase from the existing S$700 cap.
MOH added that the changes follow a regular review aimed at keeping healthcare affordable. Of the 915,000 patients who used the scheme last year, about 20% had bills for chronic or preventive care that exceeded their withdrawal limits even after subsidies. Chronic patients made up 95% of users, and about 80% of them had complex conditions, meaning many were previously subject to the lower cap.
Speaking in parliament during his ministry's budget debate, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the schemes such as Flexi-MediSave and MediSave500/700 were designed to give patients flexibility in paying for chronic disease management, scans and dental treatments, while safeguarding MediSave's original purpose of covering large hospital bills later in life.
However, he noted that Singapore's ageing population has shifted healthcare needs. "It continues to be important to preserve MediSave for big hospital bills," he said, as quoted CNA. "On the other hand, as people live longer, the need to spend on preventive care and chronic disease management also goes up."
Ong acknowledged that trade-offs are built into the system: using more MediSave for recurring expenses could mean having less set aside for future hospitalisation. If the strain becomes too great, contribution rates may need to be reviewed, he added, stressing that the balance must be carefully managed to keep co-payment principles intact while maintaining affordability.
Separately, MOH will expand the Chronic Disease Management Programme to include hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism from January 1 next year. The move is expected to benefit more than 53,000 patients with thyroid disorders. The ministry is also studying whether other conditions, such as eczema, should be added.
The updates form part of broader efforts to support Singapore's ageing population, with more than one in five residents now aged 65 and above.
