Subsidies

What is it?

The means-test is a method to calculate the amount of subsidies you will receive from the government for care services. It ensures that the subsidies for lower-income households and higher income households are allocated appropriately.

For means-testing, the income of all family members living in the household is taken into consideration. This includes in-laws, relatives, and legally adopted children with the same residential address.

For households with income, the monthly household income per person is used to determine the amount of subsidy allocated to eligible patients.

Monthly household income refers to:

• For salaried employees – average monthly employment income received over the last available 12-month period, including bonuses.
• For self-employed: (a) the monthly income derived from the last available net trade income as assessed by IRAS within the last two assessment years OR (b) the income declared to the CPF Board or the income assumed under the CPF laws within the last two years.

For households with no income (e.g. an elderly retired couple whose children have moved out into their own homes), the annual value of your residence will be considered instead.

Am I eligible?

Both Singapore citizens and permanent residents are entitled to subsidies for NTUC Health’s Day Care, Home Care, and Nursing Home services, depending on the monthly household income per person. Apart from the monthly household income per person, the patient may also be required to meet other eligibility criteria, such as care assessments, to qualify.

Eligibility for Subsidies on Day Care, Home Care and Rehab (Community Rehabilitation & Home Therapy) Fees

Eligibility for Subsidies on Nursing Home Fees

How to apply?

For Home Care and Day Care clients, you may access the MediShield Life e-Service Portal using SingPass to apply for government subsidies. For enquiries, you may contact MediShieldLife at 1800 222 3399 or email hhinfo@medishieldlife.sg.

For Nursing Home clients, you may contact the Agency for Integrated Care at 1800-650-6060, or complete the application on your own through the steps below:

Step 1:
Simply approach the medical social workers in your existing polyclinic or hospital to initiate the application for subsidies through National Means Testing Systems.

Step 2:
The medical social worker will assess the patient’s conditions, family background, and financial situation to ascertain the eligibility and subsidies rate.

Step 3:
The medical social worker will advise you on your MOH Subsidy for nursing homes.

Step 4:
The Agency for Integrated Care will review your application and send the referral to NTUC Health. NTUC Health will follow up with you for pre-admission preparation.

For more information, feel free to contact us to assist you:

• Home Care, Day Care and Rehabilitation: Submit a form
• Nursing Home (Chai Chee): 6812 8960
• Nursing Home (Geylang East): 6708 8600
• Nursing Home (Jurong West): 6708 8400
• Nursing Home (Lakeside): 6304 8870
• Nursing Home (Tampines): 6372 8388

What is it?

The Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) enables Singapore Citizens from lower to middle-income households, and all Pioneers, to receive subsidies for medical and dental care at participating General Practitioners (GP) and dental clinics near their home, for:

• Common illnesses: cough, cold, flu, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fever, headache, skin infection and rashes, sore eyes, urinary tract infection.
• Selected chronic diseases: diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, stroke, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, osteoarthritis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, anxiety, parkinson’s disease, nephrosis, epilepsy, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, ischaemic heart disease.
• Selected dental services: crowning, denture, denture reline, root canal treatment, extraction, filing, polishing, scaling, topical fluoride, X-ray.
• Health screening: diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, colorectal cancer, and cervical cancer.

CHAS covers Singapore Citizens for chronic conditions at participating CHAS clinics including NTUC Health Family Medicine Clinic. All Merdeka Generation seniors will also receive subsidies for medical and dental care at CHAS GP and dental clinics including NTUC Health Family Medicine Clinic (previously known as Unity Family Medicine Clinic) and Denticare Clinics.

Am I eligible

Eligibility for Community Health Assist Scheme

Community Health Assist Scheme Subsidies from 1 November 2019

How to apply?

Unsure of your eligibility or the application process? Please call the following numbers for more information on subsidies:

• Family Medicine Clinic: 6281 2638

Alternatively, you may contact the CHAS customer support officer at 1800-275-2427
directly, or complete the application on your own through the steps below:

Step 1:
Pick up a CHAS application form at any Community Centre or Club (CC), Community Development Council (CDC), Public Hospital, or Polyclinic. Alternatively, you may download the application form here (PDF).

Step 2:
Fill up the application form. Family members with the same residential address only need to submit one application form with the necessary supporting documents.

Step 3:
Send the completed and signed application form to P.O Box 680, Bukit Merah Central Post Office, Singapore 911536. Application will be processed within 15 working days. From September 2019, Singaporeans can also apply for CHAS online using Singpass.

Step 4:
Successful applicant will receive a CHAS card that indicates the subsidy tier they are eligible for. All family members with the same residential address will also receive their cards.

For more information, please visit Community Health Assistant Scheme website.

What is it?

To support ageing in place, the Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) provides support for seniors who receive government funded home care or care within the community, and require mobility and assistive devices for daily independent living.

The following SMF subsidies are available:

1. Assistive Devices
   This refers to items that help your elderly loved one move around (walking stick and wheelchair) and items that they may need at home (commode, pressure relief cushion, hospital bed, spectacles, and hearing aids).
2. Home Healthcare Items
   For frail seniors who can stay in nursing homes but choose to be supported by home healthcare services, you can apply for subsidies for the cost of necessities (catheters, milk supplements, thickeners, adult diapers, nasal tubing, and wound dressings).

Am I eligible?

Eligibility for subsidies on SMF for Assistive Devices

Generic Assistive Devices

1. You must be a Singaporean citizen aged 60 and older.
2. For household with income, your household income per person must be $1,800 and below. For household with no income, the annual value of residence on your NRIC must be $13,000 and below.
3. You must not reside in a nursing home.
4. You must be assessed by an assessor such as a therapist, doctor, optometrist, or audiologist.
5. It must be the first time you are making claims for the category.

Motorised Devices

1. Points 1 - 5 mentioned above.
2. You must not have a full time caregiver.
3. You must not have the ability to use a manual wheelchair independently.
4. You must be mentally and physically able to safely use the motorised device.

Eligibility for Subsidies on SMF for Home Healthcare Items

1. You must be a Singaporean citizen aged 60 and older.
2. For household with income, your household income per person must be $1,800 and below. For household with no income, the annual value of residence on your NRIC must be $13,000 and below.
3. You must be receiving one of the following services :
   1. home nursing,
   2. home medical,
   3. home palliative services,
   4. Singapore Programme for Integrated Care for the Elderly (SPICE),
   5. integrated home and day care (IHDC) packages.
4. You must undergo assessment to determine your needs and healthcare required.
5. You must not be already receiving subsidies for the same items.

How to apply?

Unsure of your eligibility or the application process?

You may contact Singapore Silver Line at 1800-650-6060 directly, or complete the application on your own through the steps below:

Step 1:
Get a copy of the SMF application form from any AIC Link locations, or download the Application Form for Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund (PDF).

Step 2:
Fill up the application form with a copy of your NRIC, medical reports, and financial assistance documents.

Step 3:
Send the completed and signed application form to Senior Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) at No. 7 Maxwell Road #04-01 MND Complex Annex B Singapore 069111.

Step 4:
You will be notified of your application outcome by AIC.

For more information, please visit AIC's page for Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund.

What is it?

The Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE) is an assistance scheme for seniors who were not eligible for ElderShield due to their age or pre-existing disabilities.

If you fall under this category and meet the eligibility criteria, you can receive $150 – $250 monthly cash payout for up to 72 months.

The cash payout can be used to care for the disabled IDAPE claimant, for medical bills, nursing costs, and the hiring of foreign domestic worker.

You may nominate yourself, a caregiver (18 years old and above), or NTUC Health’s nursing home (if the senior is residing in our nursing home) to receive your IDAPE payment.

Am I eligible?

Eligibility for IDAPE Assistance Scheme

1. You must be a Singapore citizen living in Singapore
2. You must be born on or before 30 September 1932, OR born between 1 October 1932 and 30 September 1962, with pre-existing disabilities as 30 September 2002
3. You must be unable to perform at least three out of six activities of daily living (i.e. eating, bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, walking or moving around) and certified by an approved assessor
4. Your monthly household income per person should fall below $2,600
   1. Monthly cash benefits: $250
      Monthly household income per person between $0 and $1.800 OR annual value of property below $13,000
   2. Monthly cash benefits: $150
      Monthly household income per person between $1,801 and $2,600

How to apply?

Unsure of your eligibility or the application process?

You may contact Singapore Silver Line at 1800-650-6060 directly, or complete the application on your own through the steps below:

Step 1:
Submit your household means test declaration to Ministry of Health. You may download the Means-Test Application Form (PDF) here.

Step 2:
Prepare your IDAPE application form and supporting documents. You may download the Application Form For Schemes Administered by Agency for Integrated Care (PDF) here.

Step 3:
Contact an IDAPE-appointed assessor for disability assessment. You may check the list of assessors here. The following fees apply:

Step 4:
Submit your IDAPE application documents to the assessor, who will submit the documents to Agency for Integrated Care. You will be notified of your application outcome in writing.

For more information, please visit Silver Pages’ Resource Library on IDAPE.

What is it?

Pioneers who have disabilities and require permanent help with activities of daily living, can receive a life-long cash assistance of $100 each month to support their care expenses.

Am I eligible?

Eligibility for PioneerDAS

How to apply?

Unsure of your eligibility or the application process?

You may contact Singapore Silver Line at 1800-650-6060 directly, or complete the application on your own through the steps below:

Step 1:
Pick up the application forms at any Community Centre or AIC Link locations. Alternatively, you may follow the instructions on AIC's page.

Step 2:
Visit any clinic with the Functional Assessment Report for the disability assessment. The cost of an assessment may vary with the clinic you visit. If you are permanently bedridden, a memo or document from your doctor to certify the start date of your disability is sufficient. You may also use your Eldershield or IDAPE approval letter in lieu of a Functional Assessment Report.

Step 3:
Send the completed forms to the Agency for Integrated Care at No. 7 Maxwell Road #04-01, MND Complex Annex B, Singapore 069111.

Step 4:
You will be notified of your application outcome by the Agency for Integrated Care.

For more information, please visit the AIC's page for the Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme page for more information.

What is it?

The Merdeka Generation Package is for Singaporeans born from 1 January 1950 to 31 December 1959, and who became a Singapore Citizen on or before 31 December 1996.

The package is also given to seniors who did not receive the Pioneer Generation Package, but were born on or before 31 December 1949, and became a Singapore Citizen on or before 31 December 1996. Benefits include:

• $100 Passion Silver card top-up for active ageing programmes
• $200 Medisave top-ups
• Outpatient subsidies
• CareShield Life Participation Incentives
• Additional MediShield Life Premium Subsidies

Am I eligible?

You may check your eligibility for the Merdeka Generation Package by visiting this page.

How to apply?

For assistance on the Merdeka Generation Package application, you may contact the Merdeka Generation Package support staff at 1800-2222-888 or email contactus@merdeka.gov.sg.

For more information, please visit the Merdeka Generation website.