‘'Mr Gan said that working adults should not need to fork out any extra cash to pay for the new MediShield Life. That is because the Govt intends the individuals to pay the higher premium entirely from his Medisave.
He said that the individual’s annual Medisave contributions should be enough to pay for it.’
The above is everything you want to know about the Medishield Life Scheme. It is everything but nothing but your savings in your Medisave saving accounts, in the minimum sum. No matter how much you have, it will be just enough to feed this scheme. And it will be painless because you don’t see it and don’t feel it. They just quietly drain the money in your Medisave Account for you to pay for this Medishielf Life scheme whether you like it or not, whether you need it or not.
I remember in the past many people used to say, it is free, when they bought HDB flats or stay in the hospitals, all because the payment comes from their CPF savings. I think this will be a better promotional catchphrase, ‘Medishield Life is Free, no need to pay’. No cash needed to be paid up front. Everything will be just on papers, like what is being printed in your CPF statements. There is a lot of money there and there will be a lot of money being transferred compulsorily from your account when Medishield Life is enforced.
And every daft Sinkie can go around happily saying that Medishield Life is so good, or the govt is so good. It is free. No need to pay one.
Our retirement saving scheme in the form of CPF is so unique that despite setting aside so much for our retirement, many will end up without any money left or not enough for retirement. The trick is that the public housing scheme and the impending Medishield Life Insurance scheme will have first charge to draw down from the CPF, all designed to draw as much as they could without drawing blood and causing immediate pain. The way the CPF savings are spent is so ingenious that the daft Sinkies don’t even know what is happening to their savings. Simply brilliant and deserving to be paid in the millions! It does not hurt your pocket, only what is put into your CPF, your life time savings.
So, is it free or not free?
Chua Chin Leng AKA RedBean
*The writer blogs at http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/