Daniel Choy Straits Times FORUM page (9 Mar 2005) to increase the age of MediShield from 80 to 85. This feedback was taken effect on 1 Mar 2006

Daniel Choy Straits Times FORUM page (9 Mar 2005) to increase the age of MediShield from 80 to 85. This feedback was taken effect on 1 Jan 2006

I read the article on Forum page on 4 Mar Let Medisave pay premiums after 80 by Trevor Reginald. I applaud Trevor Reginald for making the smart move to switch to IncomeShield so as to take advantage of the Life time coverage instead of remaining in MediShield that cover up to 80.

The Life expectancy is getting higher, and if a person has been covered under MediShield for many years, and medical insurance is most important when a person live beyond 80, and yet at the old age, MediShield unable to continue the coverage and the insured no longer can do a switch after 75 to other insurer, that is really sad.

Both my parents already 77, they have only 3 more years under MediShield, after that, the medical cost would be so much that our Medisave will be depleted by medical cost.

Next, the basic fundamental is "We should use our MediSave to pay premium which is low and predictable, and not use our MediSave to pay medical cost which is high and unpredictable", hence, I agreed with Trevor Reginald that the MediSave should be used to pay premium after 80.

Being a retiree at that age and premium is much higher, every drop of cash become very important, and since we have enough savings in the MediSave, why can't we use those monies to pay premium?

If we run out of cash and unable to pay premium, policy lapsed, then the MediSave would deplete faster when it is being used to pay medical bill. Hence, I second the idea to loosen up and let the elderly use their own money in the MediSave to pay premium and hope that the relevant authority would look into allowing MediSave to pay premium after 80 and also allow MediShield to cover a person a life time just as IncomeShield did.

If IncomeShield can do it, why can't MediShield, that's perhaps a reason why MediShield is loosing market and healthy insured to IncomeShield. If MediSave can compete well with Incomeshield, then it would give the healthy insured more incentive to stike to MediShield and not switching to IncomeShield.

Daniel Choy Tuck Leong