The Singapore government has accepted the MediShield Life Council’s recommendations to create a list of clinically proven and cost-effective outpatient cancer drug treatments, to allow these cancer drug treatments to be claimable under MediShield Life, and to set more granular claim limits to provide better coverage based on the cost of each treatment. 

The list will cover 90% of existing treatments in the public sector, including some commonly used treatments that do not meet the clinical and cost effectiveness criteria but are grandfathered onto the list.

These recommendations are in line with the approaches in other developed countries such as the UK, Australia and South Korea. They will support the procurement of cancer drugs at better prices and help to keep MediShield Life premiums sustainable. MediSave withdrawal limits and Integrated Shield Plan (IP) coverage will also be aligned to this framework.

At the same time, the Government will subsidise more cancer drug treatments and extend Medication Assistance Fund (MAF) subsidies to more Singaporeans by raising the eligible income criteria.

The combined effect of these changes is that cancer patients will pay less for clinically proven and cost-effective cancer drug treatments.