Increase in MediShield Life premiums, theft of Budget 2020 grocery vouchers to be discussed in Parliament

SINGAPORE: The expected increase in MediShield Life premiums and the recent theft of Budget 2020 grocery vouchers will be discussed when Parliament sits on Monday (Nov 2).

Several Members of Parliament submitted questions on MediShield Life, with West Coast GRC MP Foo Mee Har and Bukit Panjang MP Liang Eng Hwa asking for the reasons for raising premiums.  

Workers' Party (WP) MP for Aljunied GRC Gerald Giam asked if the full actuarial report for the current MediShield Life scheme and the proposed revisions, including actuarial assumptions used, can be made available.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) had announced last month that premiums for MediShield Life may increase by up to 35 per cent for some in the next few years, as the MediShield Life Council seeks to improve benefits of Singapore’s national health insurance scheme.

As part of the first major review of the scheme since it was launched in 2015, several recommendations were made, including raising the policy year claim limit and introducing higher claim limits for daily ward and treatment charges,

READ: Singaporeans to receive COVID-19 subsidy to offset proposed increase in MediShield Life premiums

On the recent theft of Budget 2020 grocery vouchers from letterboxes, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Saktiandi Supaat asked if the Government has explored other ways to distribute the vouchers, such as using PayNow.

Mountbatten MP Lim Biow Chuan asked what why the vouchers were sent by post, and if the Government has made any assessments on the risk of lost or stolen vouchers. 

READ: Man and woman charged with stealing grocery vouchers from Tampines letterboxes

Other issues on the agenda include sexual misconduct on campus.

WP MP for Sengkang GRC He Ting Ru asked how the Ministry of Education is supervising institutes of higher learning on their progress on tackling cases of sexual misconduct, and if the ministry will consider regular reports on such incidents on campus.

Three Bills will be introduced in Parliament, including amendments to the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill.

Five Bills are up for a second reading, 

These include the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill, which sets out ways to strengthen data protection and enforcement.