MOH clarifies inaccuracies in circulated WhatsApp message about ElderShield and CareShield Life

SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Health (MOH) has addressed inaccuracies about ElderShield and CareShield Life circulating in a WhatsApp message that

first appeared in 2018

and has resurfaced recently.

The message was about Mr K, a severely disabled man whose ElderShield payouts ceased for six months.

In July 2018, his case was brought up in Parliament by Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim during a debate on CareShield Life, a

compulsory government-run disability insurance scheme that replaced ElderShield in 2020

.

In a Facebook post on March 13, MOH said it is aware of the message resurfacing recently and noted several inaccuracies in it.

The ministry said ElderShield and CareShield Life are long-term care insurance schemes targeted at severe disability. The schemes provide support to claimants through payouts.

A claimant can receive the payouts if he or she has been assessed to be unable to perform at least three out of the six activities of daily living.

“This is contrary to what is stated in the message – that an individual would have to be ‘probably totally immobile or on the brink of death’ before he or she can receive ElderShield or CareShield Life payouts,” MOH added.

In 2018, Ms Lim had expressed concerns that CareShield Life would adopt the same eligibility criteria as ElderShield.

Mr K, who suffered from an advanced stage of kidney failure and had his leg amputated due to diabetes, was first assessed to be “severely disabled” in September 2014 and began receiving ElderShield payouts.

MOH said in a Facebook post in 2018 that the insurer ceased the payouts from October 2016 after a routine disability review in September 2016 by a doctor concluded that he was able to perform all six activities of daily living, “albeit requiring some assistance”.

Following an appeal from his family, a reassessment in November 2016 determined that Mr K was severely disabled, and thus eligible for ElderShield benefits again.

But the payouts resumed only in April 2017. He died the following month.

CareShield Life, a national long-term care insurance scheme, provides better basic financial protection against severe disability. This is defined as the inability to carry out three or more activities of daily living – washing, dressing, feeding, toileting, walking or moving, and transferring from a bed to a chair. 

All Singapore citizens or permanent residents born in 1980 or later are universally covered under CareShield Life from Oct 1, 2020, or when they turn age 30, whichever is later.

CareShield Life premiums can be paid fully through MediSave, and the Government will provide means-tested premium subsidies to ensure premiums are affordable.

In its March 13 Facebook post, MOH also refuted claims that policyholders have to pay insurance premiums for 30 years before they can benefit from the schemes.

“A policyholder can make a claim at any point if he or she is assessed to have severe disability,” the ministry said.

“A claimant also need not continue paying any premiums for as long as he or she remains in severe disability.”

The ministry also clarified that

CareShield Life

has been designed with a higher monthly payout that started at $600 a month in 2020 to better support Singaporeans with severe disability.

It said the scheme increases at 2 per cent a year until the age of 67 or when a claim is made. The 2 per cent escalation rate is set for 2020 to 2025.

The monthly payout for the scheme is $662 as at 2025.

The CareShield Life Council is reviewing the scheme, including the escalation rate, and is slated to release its recommendations in the second half of 2025.