Opt out of Eldershield

Dear Mr. Tan,
My wife received an "opt out letter on Eldershield" from Great Eastern. She is not a customer of Great Eastern. How did Great Eastern get her particulars? Is it fair to apply "opt out", especially to people who are illiterate?

REPLY

The Ministry of Health makes it mandatory for everyone reaching age 40 to be covered under Eldershield. This is provided under the Eldershield legislation. Although it is compulsory, the insured person has the right to opt out. If they do not opt out, they automatically join the scheme and the premium for Eldershield is deducted from Medisave.

The Ministry divided the people reaching age 40 into three groups and passed them to the three participating insurers, namely Great Easter, Income and Aviva. Your wife is probably in the group that is given to Great Eastern by M of Health. This is how Great Eastern got her particulars.

When Eldershield was first introduced, about 35% of the people opted out, as they found the premium to be too high, relative to the benefits. The opt out rate has fallen (but I do not know the current level today). I have not analysed the premium and benefit recently, so I am not able to give an opinion if it is worth joining Eldershield.