Budget 2026: MOH to extend MediShield Life to selected preventive surgeries, revamp MediSave scheme
An AI tool to help doctors flag Healthier SG enrollees at high risk of chronic disease will also be rolled out
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[SINGAPORE] The Ministry of Health (MOH) will extend MediShield Life coverage to selected risk-reducing surgeries and raise MediSave withdrawal limits for chronic and preventive care.
The moves – announced during the ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Thursday (Mar 5) – are part of a broader push to strengthen support for longer-term healthcare needs.
This comes amid growing demands in a super-aged society, where more than one in five Singaporeans was aged 65 and above as at June 2025.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that advances in medical science had led to greater overlaps between preventive and curative care.
“If a high-risk individual is unable to undergo preventive mastectomy, she has a high chance of eventually needing cancer treatments, including a curative mastectomy to remove cancerous tissue in her breast,” he noted.
Therefore, he said, MediShield Life will be “judiciously extended” to cover preventive surgeries in selected cases.
MOH said in a media briefing ahead of the debate that these procedures must be medically indicated, that is, the patient has tested positive for associated genes and has been assessed by a clinician to require the relevant treatment or surgery.
It added that these procedures must also be high-cost but low-incidence – making them suitable for risk-pooling – and assessed to be cost-neutral or cost-saving without affecting premium affordability.
Based on these criteria, said Ong, MediShield Life will be extended to cover risk-reducing surgeries linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC).
These include risk-reducing mastectomy and risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (RRBSO) – the removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries – for patients who test positive for HBOC and choose to undergo the procedures.
Coverage for HBOC and RRBSO is targeted for the third and fourth quarters of 2026, respectively, said MOH, adding that MediSave use will also be extended to cover the remaining co-payment.
The ministry said it will share further details on the MediShield Life coverage and MediSave use nearer to their introduction.
MOH added that it will continue to assess whether to extend MediShield Life for other preventive surgeries on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with the MediShield Life Council, to ensure that expansions are “scoped carefully to keep premiums for Singaporeans affordable”.
Ong also shared that it is estimated that one in 150 individuals in Singapore carries a mutation in genes such as BRCA1 or 2 that are associated with HBOC.
“Such a mutation substantially increases a woman’s lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer,” he noted.
Hence, the government will offer subsidised genetic testing to at-risk individuals for HBOC, such as those with a family history of the diseases, said the minister.
“They will undergo genetic counselling before and after the test. And if they test positive, we will also offer the test to their immediate family members,” he said.
MOH said that the genetic testing for HBOC is expected to be rolled out by end-2026. Eligible Singaporeans and permanent residents will receive means-tested subsidies of up to 70 per cent for these costs, with seniors from the Pioneer and Merdeka generations eligible for additional subsidies.
Patients aged 60 and above may also use Flexi-MediSave to further defray out-of-pocket costs.
In addition, from the start of next year, MediSave withdrawals under a set of enhanced limits can be used to offset the cost of the genetic test after subsidies.
MediSave scheme renamed, limits increased
Ong said that from Jan 1, 2027, the government will raise the withdrawal limits under the MediSave500/700 scheme, which will also be renamed the MediSave Chronic and Preventive Care scheme to better “reflect its scope of coverage”.
At present, under the MediSave500/700 scheme, Singaporeans can withdraw up to S$500 a year from their MediSave accounts for outpatient treatment of chronic conditions under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP), as well as selected vaccinations and preventive tests.
Patients with complex chronic conditions requiring more intensive management can withdraw up to S$700 a year.
MOH said the MediSave Chronic and Preventive Care scheme will raise the basic annual limit to S$700, up from S$500, and the annual limit for patients with complex chronic conditions to S$1,000 from S$700.
As HBOC genetic testing is expected to roll out before the new MediSave Chronic and Preventive Care scheme takes effect, MOH said the existing MediSave500/700 limits will be extended on an interim basis to cover the cost of the test.
About 915,000 patients a year are expected to benefit from the higher limits of the MediSave Chronic and Preventive Care scheme, said MOH, which will help reduce out-of-pocket costs for regular consultations, medications and selected vaccinations and preventive tests.
The CDMP currently covers major chronic conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, lipid disorders, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Ong added that from January 2027, the programme will also be expanded to include hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
Patients diagnosed with these thyroid conditions will be able to tap the enhanced withdrawal limits, as well as receive Community Health Assist Scheme subsidies for ongoing treatment and management – a move expected to benefit more than 53,000 patients, said MOH.
Ong added that his ministry is studying other chronic conditions, such as eczema, for possible inclusion in the CDMP and will provide updates when ready.
AI tool to flag high-risk patients
Beyond affordability measures, Ong also announced plans to deploy an artificial intelligence (AI) risk-assessment tool that can identify individuals at high risk of developing diabetes or hyperlipidaemia within the next three years, with more than 75 per cent accuracy.
The tool, known as Assisted Chronic Disease Explanation using AI (ACE-AI), was developed by national healthtech agency Synapxe. It uses data such as a person’s age and medical history to assess risk.
Ong said it will be rolled out to doctors for all Healthier SG enrollees from early 2027. Enrollees flagged as high risk will undergo annual cardiovascular disease risk screening – up from once every three years – with subsidies provided.
“By systematically identifying high-risk individuals, we enable earlier detection. Together with good preventive care, this will help to prevent or delay more serious cardiovascular events and potentially reduce long-term healthcare costs,” said MOH.
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