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SINGAPORE: From Tuesday, CPF members who are hospitalised or who go for day surgery can use more of their Medisave to pay for their bills.

The Health Ministry announced two months ago it would be raising the Medisave withdrawal limit to benefit more patients.

From May 1, the withdrawal cap for inpatient stay at hospitals will go up by $50 to $450 per day.

The change is expected to benefit about 112,000 bills.

With the increase in withdrawal limit, Medisave will on average cover 82% of each B1-class bill, up from 76% currently, and 66% of each A-class or private hospital ward bill, compared to 57% respectively.

With the existing withdrawal limit, more than 90% of all Class B2/C bills are already fully covered without the need for any cash outlay.

The Health Ministry says the change is to help middle-income earners reduce the cash outlay when they are hospitalised.

For patients undergoing day surgery, the Medisave withdrawal limit is raised to $300 from the current $200.

With the revision, 84 percent of all subsidised day surgery bills will be fully covered by Medisave, compared to 77 percent now.

This translates to greater coverage for about another 30,000 day surgery episodes.

The Ministry hopes this will encourage more patients to opt for day surgery if they do not need to be hospitalised.

This will not only save them money and time but also free up valuable bed space for other patients.

For those needing inpatient psychiatric treatment, the annual Medisave withdrawal limit will be increased from $3,500 to $5,000.

This change, also effective from May 1, will ensure greater coverage of hospital bills of up to 82 percent of a Class B2/C bill, compared to about 68 percent currently.

About 1,200 patients who stay long term, especially in Institute of Mental Health (IMH) wards, will stand to benefit from the change. - CNA/ir

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