Elder care services doesn’t need to be a cause for financial burden for your family. Our team at Jaga-me has come up with an all you need to know handy guide for Eldercare grants and subsidies in Singapore. If you have a loved one who may be a recipient, do take a look at the guide below! Education is definitely important to make healthcare affordable and accessible for everyone!

At Jaga-Me, we believe in making healthcare accessible and available to everyone. We provide personalised and curated care for your loved ones. If you need a trained medical escort to accompany your loved ones for their medical appointments or a trained nurse to do nursing procedures in the comfort of your home, let Jaga-Me share your caregiving responsibility.

Award winning Home Care trusted by health professionals – Jaga-Me

There have been many useful subsidies by the Singaporean Government. If you are a caregiver or caring for the Silver generation, our guide is here to help you defray the high costs of healthcare and pick the best subsidy or scheme that best suit your needs.

Jaga-Me’s The Silver Lining Subsidies is a three part series that covers a wide range of your expenses and the various grants, schemes and subsidies offered by the government to assist you.

Use the links below to help you navigate through The Silver Lining Subsidies: Daily Living & Outpatient Expenses!

DAILY LIVING (NON-MEDICAL)

• Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE)
• Foreign Domestic Worker(FDW) Levy Concession
• Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund(SMF)

DAILY LIVING (MEDICAL)

• Intermediate And Long-Term Care (ILTC) Services
  

OUTPATIENT

• Pioneer Generation Package(PGP)
• Community Health Assistance Scheme (CHAS)

Daily Living (Non-Medical)

Enhancement For Active Seniors (EASE)

What is it?

Up to 95% subsidies for home modifications so that old folks can live at ease in their own homes.

Subsidies for home modifications so that old folks can live at ease in their own homes.

Benefits:

This is what you can install in your flat through the EASE programme:

1. Slip-resistant treatment to floor tiles in up to two bathrooms or toilets
2. Grab bars in the flat (eight or 10 grab bars for the first toilet, and six grab bars for the second toilet)
3. Up to five ramps in the flat, and/or at the main entrance – if it is doable

Eligibility Criteria:

You must be a Singapore flat owner, with at least one household member above 65 years old or between the ages of 60 and 64 and needs help with one or more of the Activities of Daily Living(ADLs). These include:

OR
You must be a Singaporean flat owner, with a member of your family living with you who is 65 years and older.

Apply for EASE program directly here via HDB e-service.

Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Concession Levy

What is it?

The FDW levy concession aims to provide relief for families with an aged adult at home who needs a FDW.

Benefits

Families with an aged adult (65 years and above) will receive a subsidized levy fee of $60 a month.

Eligibility Criteria:

To find out more you can check out the MOM website and apply for the scheme.

*From 1 April 2019, the qualifying age for the aged person scheme will be raised from 65 to 67. This is in light of improving life expectancy and health of Singaporeans.

However, all households with persons aged 65 and 66, which are enjoying or have enjoyed the levy concession under the aged person scheme before 1 April 2019, will continue to pay the monthly concessionary rate of $60.

Senior’s Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) for Assistive Devices

What is it?

Subsidies for mobility and assistive devices for daily independent living, home healthcare items and transport to Ministry of Health-funded centres.

Benefits:

• Assistive Devices: Includes mobility devices (i.e walking aids and wheelchairs) and other assistive devices (i.e. commodes, hearing aids, hospital beds and air mattresses).
• Transport: If your loved one needs assistance to go to a MOH funded day centres, they can receive subsidies for their transport to the day-care centre.  
• Home Healthcare Items: If your loved one is eligible for a nursing home but chose to stay at home, you can receive subsidies for home healthcare products such as milk feeds, adult diapers, nasal tubing or wound dressing products.

Read more about how SMF has helped people like Mdm Ho here.

Eligibility Criteria:

To find out more you can visit the silver pages, to apply for SMF scheme you can click here.

Daily Living (Medical)

Intermediate and Long-Term Care (ILTC) Services

What is it?

Intermediate and long term care (ILTC) services are typically required for persons who need further care after being discharged from an acute hospital as well as community-dwelling seniors who may be frail and need someone to watch over them or to help them with their daily needs.

These services are provided through:

• Community Hospitals
• Chronic Sick Facilities
• Nursing Homes
• Hospices
• Eldercare Centres
• Home-based services such as home nursing (Like Jaga-Me), home medical, home help services meals-on-wheels, escort / transport services

Benefits:

Up to 80 % for home care and 75%  for residential services such as nursing home.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Are Singapore citizens or Permanent Residents
• Meet the admission criteria of the ILTC services required
• Are receiving care from MOH-funded service providers

Outpatient

Pioneer Generation Package (PGP)

What is it?

The PGP is to honour and thank the pioneer generation for their efforts and dedication to Singapore. The package helps pioneers with their healthcare costs for life.

Benefits:

• Outpatient Care (Polyclinic, participating GP and Dental Clinics).
• Medisave Top-Ups
• MediShield Life
  • Subsidies for premiums
• Disability Assistance
  • Receive $1,200 cash payout for pioneers with moderate to severe functional disabilities.

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Singapore Citizens who meet both criterias: Aged 16 and above in 1965 – this means:

• Born on or before 31 December 1949​
• Aged 65 and above in 2014

AND

​​​2. Obtained citizenship on or before 31 December 1986.

Find out more about the pioneer generation package here.

Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS)

What is it?

Subsidies for care at General Practitioners (GP) and dental clinics near home for all lower-to-middle income households and pioneers.

Benefits & Eligibility Criteria:

Find out more about the CHAS scheme here.

There are many grants, schemes and subsidies made available by the Singaporean government to ensure that the Silver generation retire with grace and dignity without the financial burden on their families. However, the assistance provided is only useful if the people who qualify for them are well-informed. We hope we have helped you in being well-informed so that you can help others to receive the full benefits of these resources.

Award winning Home Care trusted by health professionals – Jaga-Me

For Singaporean Citizens and Permanent Residents, subsidies are available to offset the cost of these screenings. Cervarix, a HPV vaccine is available at the polyclinics and prevents persistent infection and cervical cancer caused by HPV Types 16 and 18. Breast cancer screening mammograms can also be done in polyclinics.

Mammograms

Women aged 50 and above are recommended to go for a mammogram every 2 years. A mammogram usually only takes 15 minutes, and is generally pain and discomfort-free.

The cost of a mammogram for women aged 50 and above is free if you hold the Community Health Assistance Scheme (CHAS) card in orange or blue.

For everyone else, the subsidized cost will be:

• $50 for Singaporean Citizens
• $75 for Permanent Residents
• $25 for Pioneers at participating locations

You will be eligible for the subsidy if you:

• Are a Singapore Citizen or PR
• Have not gone for a mammogram in the last 24 months
• Have no breast cancer symptoms such as lumps or bloodstained nipple discharge
• Have not been breastfeeding for the last 6 months
• 50 years old and above

The cost can further be offset using the funds from your Medisave account, or those of your immediate family member.

Pap Smears

Pap smears are used to detect abnormalities in the cervix and are the best screening tool for detection of cervical cancer. The procedure takes a few minutes and is only mildly uncomfortable.

If no abnormalities are detected, you will only need to undergo another pap smear in 3 years.

Pap smears are offered at no cost by the Singapore Cancer Society Clinic at Bishan (1800 727 3333) for sexually active women above 25 years old (Singaporeans and Permanent Residents). Download their brochure to find out more.

• $2 Subsidised rate for women who have the CHAS card in orange or blue at selected clinics.
• $5 Women above 25 (Singaporeans)
• $12.25 Women above 25 (PRs)

One can also get a pap smear done in a private clinic or hospital, where the price may range from $20 to $150.

Preventive – HPV Vaccinations

Women who have not done so can also consider taking a HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccination, since most cervical cancers develop due to the HPV.

Girls as young as 9 are recommended to get their HPV vaccinations, as it is most effective when taken before a woman’s first sexual experience.

Colorectal cancer can also be screened using a simple kit that can be used at home

We recommend reading Living with Stage 3A: Surviving Breast Cancer. To know more about Gynaecological Cancers, continue reading about Ovarian Cancer , Cervical Cancer and Uterine Cancer.

References:

1. Money Smart (2019). Pap Smear Singapore Guide – How to Get Screened for Cervical Cancer (For Free!). Retrieved from https://blog.moneysmart.sg/healthcare/pap-smear-singapore/
2. Health Hub (2019). Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Subsidies in Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.healthhub.sg/a-z/costs-and-financing/30/breast–cervical-cancer-screening-subsidies
3. Singapore Cancer Society (2016). Why Screen for Cancer? Retrieved from https://www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg/get-screened/why-screen-for-cancer.html

At Jaga-Me, we believe that healthcare should be a social good – it is a basic human need, and should be available to as many people as possible. We aim to deliver the highest quality care through innovation and a commitment to building meaningful relationships.

Save travelling and long wait times at the hospitals. Get specialised medical treatments:
– Urinary Catheterisation
– Complex Wound Care
– Nasogastric (NG) Feeding Tube
– IV Infusion Therapy

Jaga-Me: Your Trusted Medical Home Care Professional

There have been many useful subsidies by the Singaporean Government. If you are a caregiver or caring for the Silver generation, our guide is here to help you defray the high costs of healthcare and pick the best subsidy or scheme that best suit your needs.

Jaga-me’s The Silver Lining Subsidies is a three part series that covers a wide range of your expenses.

Read The Silver Lining Subsidies: Daily Living & Outpatient Expenses .
Read The Silver Lining Subsidies: Cash Payouts.

Use the links below to navigate.

• Flexi-Medisave Scheme
• Medishield Life Premium Subsidies
• Additional Medishield Life Premium Support
• Medifund Silver
• 5 Year CPF Top-Ups

Flexi-MediSave Scheme

What is it?

Flexi-Medisave allows older Singaporeans to use their Medisave accounts for outpatient treatments at public hospitals’ specialist outpatient clinics, polyclinics and general practitioners participating in the Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) on top of other Medisave limits.

Benefits:

Each patient can use up to $200 of Medisave per year.

Eligibility Criteria:

• A patient aged 60 or above can use Flexi-Medisave for his outpatient visits.
• A patient can tap on his own or his spouse’s Medisave, provided that his spouse is also aged 60 or above.

MediShield Life Premium Subsidies

What is it?

MediShield Life premiums are risk-pooled to support the payouts and benefits under MediShield Life. There are 4 types of Premium Subsidies:

1.Transitional Subsidies

• Available for the first 4 years of MediShield Life, for all Singapore Citizens who face an increase in their net premiums for MediShield Life (i.e. after taking into account various subsidies the policyholder is eligible for) regardless of their household income or the Annual Value of their home.
• In the first year, the Government will pay 90% of the net increase in MediShield Life premiums above MediShield premiums. This means that you only need to pay 10% of the net increase in your MediShield Life premium in the first year.
• The Government will cover 70%, 40% and 20% of the net premium increase in the second, third and fourth years of MediShield Life.
  
  

2.Premium Subsidies for the Lower-to-Middle income

• A permanent feature, available to lower- to middle-income families with household monthly income per person of $2,600 and below, and living in residences with an Annual Value of $21,000 and below.
• Those eligible can receive subsidies of up to 50% of their premiums. Permanent Residents will receive half the subsidy rate applicable to citizens.

*For those living in residences with AV of $13,000 or less.
Those with an Annual Value between $13,001 to $21,000 will receive 10 percentage points less than these subsidy rates.Those living in residences with an Annual Value of above $21,000 will not receive these subsidies.

• If you own more than one property, you do not qualify for this subsidy.
  

3.Pioneer Generation Subsidies and MediSave top-ups

• Pioneers will receive generous Pioneer Generation Subsidies of between 40-60% depending on age. This is regardless of their household monthly income or the Annual Value of their home.
• Pioneers will also receive $200 – $800 a year in MediSave top-ups (depending on year of birth) for life, which can be used to pay for their MediShield Life premiums.
• 
  

Click here for more info on Pioneer Generation Subsidies and MediSave top-ups.

Additional MediShield Life Premium Support

This subsidy is for families who need assistance with premiums even after the above subsidies and MediSave use.

Eligibility Criteria & Benefits:

Your subsidy is calculated as follows:

*As subsidies are automatically applied based on the information we have about you and your household, be sure you regularly update your household information in the Household Check e-Service so that you will automatically receive MediShield Life Premium Subsidies to help with your MediShield Life premiums, if you are eligible.

• Subsidies are applied automatically for Singaporean and Permanent Residents.
• Pioneer Generation Subsidies and Transitional Subsidies for Singaporeans will be extended automatically.

Medifund Silver

What is it?

Medifund is a last alternative for patients who face financial difficulties with their remaining bills after exhausting other resources. Medifund Silver provides more targeted assistance for the needy elderly.

Benefits & Eligibility Criteria:

• ​Singapore citizen
• Subsidised patient
• Must have received treatment from a Medifund-approved institution
• You and your family must have difficulties affording the medical bill despite getting heavy subsidies, MediShield Life and Medisave
• ​​Besides meeting the criteria above, you must be 65 years or older.

Approach a Medical Social Worker: You can find a medical social worker at the hospital or institution you are staying in for more information. This medical social worker will help you to apply for the subsidies.

5 Year MediSave Top Ups

What is it?

As part of the Singapore Budget 2019 there will be MediSave top-up of S$100 per year for next 5 years for Singaporeans aged 50 and above in 2019.

Benefits & Eligibility Criteria:

Singaporeans born on or before 31 December 1959, who do not enjoy Pioneer Generation benefits.

There are many grants, schemes and subsidies made available by the Singaporean government to ensure that the Silver generation retire with grace and dignity without the financial burden on their families. However, the assistance provided is only useful if the people who qualify for them are well-informed. We hope we have helped you in being well-informed so that you can help others to receive the full benefits of these resources.

At Jaga-Me we believe in making healthcare accessible and available to everyone. We provide personalised and curated care for your loved ones. If you need a trained nurse to do professional medical procedures or simply someone to accompany you If you need a trained medical escort to accompany your loved ones for their medical appointments or a trained nurse to do nursing procedures, you can engage our care services.

Award winning Home Care trusted by health professionals – Jaga-Me