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Wider coverage would help those with disabilities and certain conditionsAS Singaporeans await further details on the expansion of the MediShield scheme, advocates for people with disabilities and pre-existing conditions are looking with anticipation to the promise of a national health insurance scheme with universal coverage.mini storageFurther stoking hope was last week's launch of the NTUC Income SpecialCare (Autism) scheme, a first-of-its-kind plan for people on the autism spectrum.More can be done for other under-insured groups as well, said Epilepsy Care Group Singapore executive director Goh Keng Hwee. For example, seizure disorders are often classified as a pre-existing condition, which makes it challenging for epileptics to obtain adequate insurance coverage.Mr Goh said that this hurts patients' pockets because if they have a fit in public, bystanders may call an ambulance even when this is not medically necessary. Patients then have to pay both ambulance and emergency room fees.Ambulance fees are currently not covered by MediShield, along with medical procedures such as vaccination, contraception, maternity care and sex reassignment surgery.Noting that yearly premiums start at $198 under the SpecialCare (Autism) plan - about twice the regular rate - Mr Goh said that premiums of around $200 are reasonable. He added that proper insurance coverage would prevent those with seizure disorders from burdening the public health system. "After all, they will be paying the premium," he said.Some other conditions now excluded under MediShield include mental health issues and HIV-related illnesses.An Action for Aids spokesman said: "There is currently only some insurance cover to protect those who are living with the HIV virus primarily for treatment of other non-HIV self storageelated illnesses. But, in general, insurance support is very limited and comes with many conditions." Given how new drug regimens have made HIV a manageable medical condition rather than a death sentence, the organisation looks forward to the inclusion of HIV/Aids in the proposed universal MediShield Life.Daniel Fung, the president of the Singapore Association for Mental Health, told BT that this situation needs to be rectified."Currently, mental illnesses are often exclusionary items in insurance and those who wish to be insured are given relatively expensive rider premiums," said Dr Fung, who is also the chairman of the Institute of Mental Health medical board."It would be good that mental illnesses be included in general insurance as the risk pooling is better in a large population."He also called on insurers to provide greater clarity on what types of mental illnesses are excluded from coverage, rather than using the term as a catch-all.Private insurance companies said that they will be working with the Ministry of Health to provide feedback on the impact of the MediShield review on their Medisave-approved Integrated Shield Plans. These insurance policies, in which premiums are paid directly to private insurers, combine basic MediShield coverage with enhanced private coverage.Integrated Shield Plan provider AIA Singapore said that the company "supports efforts to bridge the under-insurance gap".NTUC Income's senior vice-president Ken Ng also praised MediShield Life as good news for a nation striving to nurture inclusivity and accommodate rising healthcare costs."We recognise the importance of having health insurance for everyone," said Mr Ng. "We must also accept that to achieve this, insurance premiums for the average person will necessarily go up."迷你倉