MediShield Life paid just $4.50 of senior's $4,477 post-subsidy bill

MOH to work with SNEC to improve patient affordability; it will also review claim limits and premiums by end-2020

The Singapore National Eye Centre has announced it will cut charges for complex procedures, following The Straits Times' report on how MediShield Life paid just $4.50 of a senior's $4,477 bill. Here is what happened.
Mr Seow Ban Yam wonders why, when his bill for an eye operation totals more than $4,000, the MediShield Life payout cap for the particular treatment is only $2,800.
Mr Seow Ban Yam wonders why, when his bill for an eye operation totals more than $4,000, the MediShield Life payout cap for the particular treatment is only $2,800.ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Senior Health Correspondent
  • Published
    Dec 31, 2018, 5:00 am SGT
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A subsidised patient who had surgery at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) found himself caught between high fees and a low insurance payout cap.

Last year, Mr Seow Ban Yam, 82, needed a cataract operation at SNEC, part of the SingHealth cluster. Before that, he required a procedure to unblock the flow of tears.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 31, 2018, with the headline 'MediShield Life paid just $4.50 of senior's $4,477 post-subsidy bill'. Subscribe
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