No Medisave limits if patient dies in hospital

According to the CPF Board’s web site,

“For a member who passed away on or after 1 July 2006 during his/her hospitalisation, he/she can use his/her Medisave savings to pay for the last inpatient hospital bill in full, without being subjected to the existing Medisave withdrawal limits. This is because the need to save for future healthcare needs is no longer relevant”.

http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/my-cpf/Healthcare/PvdHC3.htm

Hospital also a creditor?

Whilst this helps both public and private hospitals to recover their fees from deceased patients, it may deprive the deceased’s dependents of much needed CPF funds.

With the Medisave Contribution Ceiling (MCC) currently at $43,500, this may be the maximum amount that a deceased’s dependents may be deprived of.

As the MCC increases every year, this amount may increase in future years.

For example, if a hospital is owed say $43,500 or more and the fees are not eligible to be paid under the existing Medisave withdrawal limits and eligibility rules, under the old rules, the hospital would not be able to claim the amount from the deceased’s Medisave balance because CPF is protected from creditors, including hospitals.

When this rule changed in 2006, was any announcement made in Parliament or in the media?

Gradual erosion of CPF protection from creditors?

In this connection, the protection of CPF from creditors has gradually been eroded by allowing banks to have the first charge on private residential property mortgages from 1 September, 2002, HDB bank mortgages from 1 January, 2003, all re-financing of mortgages from these two dates, and the subject Medisave rule from 1 July, 2006.