Firms must buy primary care plans for migrant workers

From April, employers that hire migrant workers who live in dormitories or work in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors must buy primary care plans (PCPs) to cover their workers' healthcare costs.

This new rule will be part of requirements for such workers to obtain or renew work permits and S Passes, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday.

The cost of PCPs - which were introduced last November - ranges from $108 to $138 per worker a year. It can be paid in regular monthly instalments to the healthcare provider in charge of the area where the migrant worker lives.

A PCP will cover most of the migrant worker's primary care needs, including medical examinations for work pass purposes, medical consultations and treatments, annual health screenings and telemedicine.

MOM said the scheme will, for a start, cover roughly a third of migrant workers here, or over 300,000, after the experience of Covid-19 outbreak in dormitories and communal living spaces.

Speaking at the launch of St Andrew's Migrant Worker Medical Centre yesterday, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said PCPs will give migrant workers greater peace of mind when accessing primary care. "(They) will also provide employers with cost clarity and strengthen their protection against unexpected healthcare bills," he said.

St Andrew's Migrant Worker Medical Centre is the first of six regional medical centres here that cater to migrant workers' outpatient care to be opened.

Employers of eligible, newly arrived migrant workers need to buy a PCP before their work passes will be issued. The same applies for migrant workers who renew their work passes or change employers.

Existing migrant workers who fall under the scheme must have a valid PCP by March 31 next year, even if their work passes are due for renewal after that date.

To instil personal ownership of their own health, migrant workers will need to fork out $5 for each visit to the medical centre as co-payment, and $2 for each telemedicine session, said MOM.

For migrant workers not covered under a PCP, the amount co-paid for each outpatient visit can be mutually agreed upon with their employers in their contracts. This is capped at 1 per cent of their fixed monthly salary, or $5, whichever is higher.

The PCPs complement the legal responsibility of employers to buy and maintain medical insurance coverage of at least $15,000 a year for each work permit holder they employ, covering inpatient care and day surgery.

Under a new system, primary healthcare will be delivered in six geographical sectors, each with at least 40,000 migrant workers living both in and out of dormitories.

Announced early last year, it aims to provide affordable healthcare for workers and reduce the risks of future disease outbreaks.

Migrant workers will be automatically enrolled with the operator in charge of the sector they live in.

St Andrew's Migrant Worker Medical Centre at Penjuru Recreation Centre in the Jurong area is already up and running, serving about 57,000 workers living in places such as Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West and Pasir Panjang.

The other five centres will be operational by April 1 either at permanent or temporary sites.