Wilful defaulters to be fined, taken to court: Minister Gan
A man perusing the MediShield Life Premium Calculator microsite. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — People who wilfully refuse to pay their MediShield Life premium payments despite having the means will be the target of penalties and other enforcement methods, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong assured Parliament yesterday.
Wrapping up the second reading of the MediShield Life Bill before it was passed, Mr Gan also said measures are in place to ensure premium payment is as convenient as possible, to help those who intend to pay but cannot afford to, or have simply forgotten.
He was responding to Members of Parliament (MPs) who were concerned that penalties would be unfairly imposed on Singaporeans who are genuinely unable to pay, for reasons such as retrenchment.
“Let me emphasise that the premium recovery framework and penalty are directed at a small group of freeloaders who are wilful defaulters and do not contribute their share, even though they can afford to ... their debts will be unfairly shouldered by those who have paid their share responsibly,” Mr Gan said.
The laws passed yesterday provide for recovery measures such as a penalty of up to 17 per cent of the owed premiums, including interest. In more extreme cases, defaulters may also be hauled to court.
Support for financially-needy Singaporeans was a key concern among MPs. Non-constituency MP Gerald Giam asked if the Government could allow those who were temporarily financially strapped to defer payment, while Ms Denise Phua (Moulmein-Kallang GRC) suggested the Ministry of Health (MOH) work with the Ministry of Social and Family Development to identify and register needy families. Mr Hri Kumar Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) pointed out that it is unclear how much time will be given to an individual who has been served notice to remedy the situation.
Addressing these concerns in his closing speech, Mr Gan outlined the measures that will be implemented to support Singaporeans, such as the Additional Premium Subsidies for people of low income. Immediate family members can use their Medisave to pay for their loves ones who cannot afford the premiums, such as mentally incapacitated adults or young adults above 21 who are still studying and not financially independent.
Those who do not have enough in their Medisave accounts will be given multiple notices and reminders to ensure they have time to respond.
However, Mr Gan stressed the need for Singaporeans to ensure their Medisave accounts have sufficient funds, and respond to notices. “If an individual repeatedly fails to pay premiums or respond despite multiple notices and reminders, we would have to impose penalty for late payment to be fair to the rest of the Singaporeans who pay their premiums on time,” he said.
Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor, also touching on concerns on premium recovery in her speech, said: “I would like to assure Members that there is no jail for not paying your premiums. The jail term only applies if you are served with a travel restriction order and you defy it and try to flee the country.”
MPs were also concerned over how much personal information will become accessible to public servants to conduct the eligibility checks for subsidies, as well as safeguards to protect the information.
The laws currently stipulate that unauthorised access, use or disclosure of information could mean a fine of up to S$5,000 or a year’s jail or both. “But it is not always easy to track down the source of a leak, and in any case, once confidential information is leaked, the damage would have already been done,” Mr Giam pointed out.
Mr Gan reiterated that only authorised persons will be allowed to access, use or disclose medical and financial information for the specified purposes. A clause in the Bill also stipulates that if MOH requires information from another ministry, approval has to be given by the minister in charge of that ministry. He added eligibility checks for MediShield Life premium subsidies will only extend to existing income records within government databases, and will not extend to private or commercial records, like bank records.
