SINGAPORE: About S$154 million in subsidies were given out to 650,000 Singaporeans in 2017 under the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Aug 23).
This is more than 10 times the amount disbursed in 2012 when the scheme was launched.
AdvertisementThe 2017 figure, however, is less than the S$169 million in subsidies given out to eligible Singaporeans in 2016.
CHAS gives low- to middle-income Singaporeans and those from the pioneer generation subsidies at more than 1,000 participating General Practitioner (GP) clinics and 700 dental clinics islandwide.
About 1.3 million Singaporeans are currently eligible.
But soon, the scheme will be expanded to cover all Singaporeans with chronic conditions - regardless of their income - as announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his National Day Rally. Subsidies will continue to be tiered by income.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAbout 181,000 CHAS patients made claims for chronic conditions in 2017. This amounted to about 688,000 visits to CHAS GPs in 2017, up from 675,000 in 2016, said MOH on Thursday.
It added that details of the enhancements to CHAS will be announced next year.
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