SINGAPORE - Lower-income patients will receive a 75 per cent government subsidy in
community hospitals.
Those
above the median income, who previously did not receive any subsidy,
will now receive a 20 per cent to 50 per cent subsidy.
Subsidies
for
nursing homes,
day care and rehabilitation facilities and home-based
care packages will also be raised so that more in the middle-income
group can benefit.
About 80 per cent of
elderly will qualify for these subsidies.
For
example, a middle-income family with an
elderly parent at a
private nursing home will see its costs reduced to $1,700 from $2,800 with these
new subsidies.
A $120 grant per month will also be offered to
families hiring a foreign domestic helper to help care for elderly
family members who have severe dementia, or are immobile and unable to
care for themselves.
This is on top of the $95 concession in the
Foreign Domestic Worker Levy that all households with elderly persons
will continue to enjoy.
Further, home modifications such as grab
bars and anti-slip treatment for bathroom tiles will also be subsidized
through a new programme, the "EASE" (Enhancement for Active Seniors)
Programme.
Each citizen household with an
elderly member can get
home modifications worth around $2,000.
They will pay no more than $250
themselves.
About 130,000 households are expected to benefit from this scheme.
GST
for
long term care will also be absorbed for subsidised
patients in
community hospitals,
nursing homes and other home-care services.
