(Nov 13) PREMIUMS for MediShield will go up again next year to provide even better coverage for patients with large hospital bills.

The national health insurance, revamped in July 2005, now covers 60 per cent of such bills for subsidised patients.

But this is not good enough for Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

He wants it to take care of as much as 80 per cent of their big bills by next year.

'This will require an increase in premium, but we will see if the required increase can remain affordable,' he said.

In the 2005 revamp, premiums went up by between $18 and $135 a year for the basic MediShield, which gives good coverage for a subsidised patient at a public hospital.

Based on the person's age, the premium now ranges from $30 a year for those who are under 30, to $705 a year for 84- to 85-year-olds. MediShield coverage stops at the age of 85.

Another change in the 2005 revamp was that the initial amount a person had to pay, called a deductible, was increased. It now ranges from $1,000 for a C class patient to $3,000 for an A class patient.

Yesterday, Mr Khaw said the deductible for private patients may be cut by $500 in next year's revamp. There will be no change in the deductible for subsidised patients, as that amount 'is about right'.

He was responding to a query from Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) on when further changes will be made to the scheme, which covers 2.8 million people here.

Mr Khaw said that details of the changes will be finalised by early next year and implemented later in the year.

By way of an update, he said the payout by MediShield had gone up by more than 50 per cent - or by $837 - for a subsidised patient after the last revamp.

This has returned the scheme to its original intent of covering large bills.

Coverage for subsidised B2 and C class bills that topped $10,000 had gone up by between 40 per cent and 60 per cent. In dollar terms, the payout for such bills went up from $7,300 before the revamp to $9,800 today.

Mr Khaw, however, turned down a request by Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) for MediShield to cover children born with congenital diseases.

He was 'sympathetic', he said. But he had explored the question three years ago and found that such coverage would require a 'hefty' sevenfold increase in the $30 annual premium paid by people aged 30 years and younger.

And, even with a premium of more than $200 a year, a child with a congenital disease would be covered only for one year. Thus, Mr Khaw said it would be 'hard to justify' including it in MediShield.

Parents of such children would be better off turning to Medifund, a government health safety net for those who cannot afford to pay their medical bills.

He also told Parliament that there are three schemes on the market by private insurers that offer a lump sum benefit if a child is born with a congenital anomaly.