Experts call for MediShield Life to cover more cutting-edge treatments

Higher premiums a worthwhile price to pay for added protection, they say

- Lee Li Ying

As more cutting-edge medical treatments offer the promise of combating previously incurable diseases, the possible inclusion of such treatments under a national health insurance scheme has been lauded by healthcare experts.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced in Parliament on March 6 that premiums for MediShield Life are set to increase, in order to provide more assurance against large medical bills and to pay for new ground-breaking treatments.

An 11-member expert panel, the MediShield Life Council, is reviewing the scheme and expected to finalise its recommendations by the second half of 2024.

One of the things it is looking into is the expansion of MediShield Life coverage to cell, tissue and gene therapy products, also known as CTGTPS.

While these treatments are promising, many are nascent and very expensive, with prices ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to a few million dollars per treatment, said Mr Ong previously, adding that insurance coverage will be extended to treatments that are clinically effective and cost-effective.

Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said MediShield Life should definitely look at covering CTGTPs as some of the treatments are life-changing.

He raised the example of Zolgensma, an innovative gene therapy that is used to treat children with a genetic condition called spinal muscular atrophy or SMA. As at March 2023, there were about 50 people here with the disorder.

Those afflicted with SMA suffer from paralysis and breathing difficulties, and can die before the age of two. The single-dose treatment corrects the genetic defect and improves survival rates.