Singapore National Day Rally 2011 Pt3/4 - 14Aug2011

S'pore govt to strengthen social safety net

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government will strengthen the country's social safety nets to ensure no one is left behind, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday evening.

Outpatient care in Singapore will be made more affordable and accessible to the elderly, those with chronic illnesses and the needy.

Families with special needs children can also look forward to greater support from the government.

Mr Lee noted that the 3M framework of Medisave, Medifund and Medishield has worked well for inpatient care.

However, more can still be done for outpatient treatment, in particular for the elderly, who suffer illnesses like Alzheimers and require long-term care.

Mr Lee said more Medifund support will be extended to them for rehabilitation, or to seek other services.

Capacity and support for nursing homes will also get a boost.

Those with chronic illnesses like high blood pressure and diabetes will also get more help.

As such, the qualifying age for the Primary Care Partnership Scheme (PCPS), which helps low-income elderly and the disabled, will be lowered from 65 to 40 years, while the income criteria will be revised to include more households.

Mr Lee said: "The low income patients, sometimes they tell me they skip an appointment because they fear they can't afford the pills, or 'the doctor say I take this everyday but I take it every other day to save money', which is not the way it is supposed to be done.

"Because if you do that, ... your condition will worsen, and more trouble will come later on, serious complications."

He added: "We will also make the medication more affordable to lower income households. We will expand the drug list so that it covers more drugs.

"And we will increase subsidies for the more expensive drugs with safeguards so that those with chronic ailments like cancer where chemotherapy can be very expensive, well you get more help.

"I think these are major moves. We will implement them carefully and as we gain further experience with them, we can learn how to fine-tune and learn how to take further steps forward."

The prime minister said comprehensive plans are needed to prepare for an ageing population. He said the Ministerial Committee on Ageing will continue to develop plans and measures.

Mr Lee noted that the Marine Parade Constituency is piloting a study on caring for the elderly and to assess their needs and concerns. He urged interested individuals and groups to suggest and try out ideas in the pilot study. He said ideas that work can then be implemented more broadly.

Mr Lee said another group who are also concerned about costs are families with special needs children. He said financial assistance to those needing help will be increased and there will be more school places for special needs children.

Mr Lee said: "There is a long queue for places in some of the SPED, some of the special education schools. And I often meet parents asking me for help to get their children in.

"So we will expand capacity in the special education schools and also in the mainstream schools, and we will strive to raise the quality of the special education schools so that the children get education that will help them overcome their disabilities."

The prime minister said the community must also play a part to help integrate those with special needs into society.

While the government will progressively improve the country's social safety net, Mr Lee said the country should not become a welfare state.

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[middlestand]

The speech is so nice.But..What kind of event is this? What for anyway?