Workers’ Party parliamentarians were in tune with the pulse of the people as they challenged the Government’s justification of the requirements and premiums that will be imposed on citizens when the compulsory Careshield Life goes into effect in 2030, during the parliamentary debate on Tuesday.
Echoing party chairman Sylvia Lim’s and secretary-general Pritam Singh’s questions, Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Daniel Goh tackled three issues that he dubbed the “trilemma” of Careshield Life.
Goh first asked why women are being made to pay higher premiums than men and indicated that this makes it seem like women are penalised for something they cannot control – their gender. Next, Goh asked whether Eldershield will become unsustainable if the majority of policyholders switch to Careshield Life.
Finally, Goh expressed shock over the fact that the ElderShield Review Committee Report claims that 1 in 2 healthy people aged 65 and above today could become severely disabled in their lifetime and questioned whether this statistic is a case of extreme profiling:
CareShield Life Motion: Daniel Goh
Can CareShield Life truly be inclusive? Daniel Goh 吴佩松 argues that women should not be penalised for something that is not within their control – being born women – as they will be required to pay significantly higher premiums (about 25% higher) compared to men. Moreover, the division in auto-enrollment between those in their 40s, and those in their 50s and 60s would create a lost generation of retiring workers with less protection for long-term disability, when they are the ones who would need it most in the coming decade of the ageing society. Daniel also questions whether a much reduced ElderShield membership pool would become unsustainable for a competitive system of three private insurers, should most existing ElderShield members make the switch to CareShield Life. Would this end up penalising the remaining ElderShield members?Finally, Daniel expresses his shock at reading in the ElderShield Review Committee Report that 1 in 2 healthy people aged 65 and above today could become severely disabled in their lifetime. Given that the younger cohorts should lead healthier lives given better nutritional, lifestyle, environmental and healthcare conditions, he questions whether this statistic of a 50% chance is a case of extreme profiling of the population in terms of severe disability risk.Vid credit: Channel NewsAsia
Posted by The Workers' Party on Wednesday, 11 July 2018
Meanwhile, the uproar over Careshield Life and Eldershield has been continuing unabated: