More needy and elderly patients received Medifund assistance in the last financial year, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday.

Over $100 million in aid was provided, up from $90 million the year prior to that. A third of this went to elderly patients. Medifund helps low-income Singaporeans who are unable to afford their medical bills despite government subsidies and after using their Medisave and MediShield accounts.

Over 587,000 Medifund applications were approved last year. Of the money disbursed, $86 million went to patients in the acute sector while some $16 million went to those in the Intermediate and Long-Term Care sector.

The Government injected a total of $600 million into Medifund last year. MOH said in a media release that it would continue to strengthen the healthcare financing framework here.