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With better coverage, they should pay just 20 per cent of a large bill of over $10,000, compared with 40 per cent now, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday.
He said that claim limits would be raised for mainly two items: daily treatment fees and implants.
Premiums now range from $30, for those aged 30 and under, to $705 for those aged 83 and 84. They will go up for everyone, with older policy-holders bearing higher increases, and younger ones most likely paying just a few dollars more.
This would be his final revision to MediShield, Mr Khaw said yesterday, after he donated blood at the Bloodbank@HSA.
The national medical insurance scheme, which provides 2.8 million people here with hospital insurance, was overhauled three years ago to improve coverage for subsidised patients.
Many were then paying up to 60 per cent of large bills. Their co-payments went down to 40 per cent when premiums were increased in July 2005 by between $1.50 and $11.25 a month.
The Health Ministry said about 2 per cent of B2 and C class patients have bills that exceed $5,000. It did not have the number whose bills exceeded $10,000.
Hefty government subsidies and insurance coverage could not make up for the relatively low ceilings on what patients could claim for some items. Mr Khaw said one was the daily claim limit for intensive care, now capped at $500, which is not enough in most cases for the critically ill.
The other was the cap on claims for expensive implants, especially for orthopaedic treatments. He said: 'Orthopaedic patients are increasingly using more expensive implants. It they are better for the patient, and we increase the withdrawal limit, it would benefit them.'
Patients can claim up to $2,500 for implants.
But spinal implants, for example, can set a patient back by anything from $2,500 to $18,000.
Mr Khaw said he would set the upper limit of premium increases to about $10 a month - the comfort zone agreed at through public consultations three years ago.
Three MPs on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health welcomed the move. They felt that an increase of $10 a month was not too much, especially since MediShield premiums are paid from the Medisave savings account.
Dr Lam Pin Min called it a timely move, while Ms Josephine Teo said better coverage would counter medical inflation, which was over 4 per cent last year.
GPC chairman Madam Halimah Yacob said: 'The increase in the daily limits for intensive care and non-standard implants are good improvements as these are items which can cause quite a dent in the pocket.'
But the timing for the increase may not be ideal, said Mr Eddy Cheong, head of family office services at financial advisory firm Providend. 'Everything is going up - from transport to foodstuff... It makes it hard for people to accept.' he said.
With means testing coming to hospitals, those who can afford higher insurance cover than the basic MediShield policy should go for it, said Mr Khaw.
In means testing, an income ceiling will be set for the full government subsidy. Those earning more will pay more for health care.
Some 60 per cent of the 2.8 million MediShield subscribers are covered by enhanced schemes, which help pay for more expensive ward classes, including in private hospitals. But Mr Khaw estimated that another 10 to 20 per cent more people need higher coverage.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JUDITH TAN
See also MEDISAVE USE EXPANDED TO COVER MORE TREATMENTS, SINGAPORE
