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All Members As you are aware, the Government announced proposals to review the Medishield Scheme, firstly in the Prime Minister’s National Day Rally this year, and subsequently in various other announcements made by the Minister for Health, Mr Gan Kim Yong, and by other Ministry of Health (MOH) officers and other government representatives. Principally, the Scheme will be re-named “Medishield Life” and will provide universal lifetime health insurance to all eligible Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents, regardless of their health statuses. SAS Preliminary Comments (on SAS Website) Please find attached the link to the Preliminary Comments, prepared by members of the SAS Health Insurance Committee, to these high-level proposals. If you have any views on these Comments, or on the proposed changes to the Medishield Scheme, we shall be glad to hear them. Send your comments and suggestions to me at: MedishieldLife_WP@actuaries.org.sg. These Comments, and your views, will be the starting point for developing SAS official responses (see below). The government has appointed a Medishield Life Review Committee, chaired by Mr Bobby Chin, to draw up recommendations for the revision of the Medishield Scheme, to be delivered to MOH by sometime in May 2014. Jill Hoffman (President), Choo Oi San (Council Member) and Joey Zhou (PR Officer) and I met with Ms Lai Wei Lin (Director, Healthcare Financing Division) of the MOH on 13 Dec 2013, to present how SAS could participate most effectively in the review process. We hope that the MOH will consider engaging SAS directly in this process, but at a minimum, SAS intends to provide feedback in any public consultation. SAS Medishield Life Review Response Working Party The Council has mandated me to form an ad hoc committee, to be called the “SAS Medishield Life Review Response Working Party”, which will craft the official SAS responses to more detailed proposals for revisions of the Scheme. The actuarial profession can contribute meaningfully to this review, given our training, experience and analytical strengths. Our members should be able to offer valuable insights into, and practical solutions for, issues arising from the review. ALL members, with an interest in the development of the Medishield Life Scheme, are invited to join this Response Working Party. You do not have to be a current member of the Health Insurance Committee. In fact, a more diverse group will be welcomed. I only ask that volunteers be willing and committed to conduct research and analytical work, besides contributing ideas and views. As a professional body, our input should be based on evidence and sound technical deductions. The work may need to be done within challenging timeframes. The terms of reference of the Response Working Party have not been drawn up yet, but should include commenting on the pros and cons of various options under consideration for the Medishield Life Scheme, and projecting the financial impact of adopting these options. If you are interested in making a useful contribution to the development of a national policy that will affect all residents, please send me an email at the same address, MedishieldLife_WP@actuaries.org.sg. Please note that this Working Party may be responding to the MOH on an on-going basis and its responses will not always be exposed to the general membership. It is important that, if you will like these responses to reflect your views, you join the Working Party. Views on Comments (by 31 Jan 2014) and Volunteering (by 30 Dec 2013) I look forward to hearing from you: - For your views on the Preliminary Comments, by 31 Jan 2014; and - On your participation in the Response Working Party, by 12.00 Noon, Mon 30 DEC 2013. If you volunteer for the Working Party, I will get in touch with you in the New Year to set out the tasks of the Working Party. Chi Cheng Hock Chair, Health Insurance Committee Jill Hoffman President 20 Dec 2013