What are Intermediate and Long-Term Care Services (ILTC)?
Intermediate and long-term care services are typically required for persons who need further care and treatment after being discharged from hospital. Long-term care services for the elderly who may be frail and need supervision or assistance with their activities of daily living may also be necessary.
These services are provided through some long-term care facilities, such as:
- Community hospitals
- Chronic sick facilities
- Nursing homes
- Hospices
- Eldercare centres
- Home-based services such as home nursing, home medical, home help services meals-on-wheels, escort/transport services
Government Subsidies for Intermediate and Long-Term Care Services
The bills for long-term care services may accumulate for patients over extended periods of time. As such, the government provides subsidies to offset these bills.
Eligibility Criteria for Government Subsidies
Government subsidies are available only to persons who:
- Are Singapore citizens or Permanent Residents
- Meet the admission criteria of the ILTC services required
- Are receiving care from MOH-funded service providers
Means-Testing
A means-test is used to determine the amount of subsidies each applicant is eligible for. Persons from lower-income households will be granted higher subsidies under the means testing framework.
With effect from 1 July 2012, the means-test approach for MOH-funded long-term care services will be based on Household Means-Testing, which takes into consideration:
Either:
- Gross income of the person needing care, his/her spouse and all family members living in the same household; and
- Total number of family members living in the same household
Or:
- Annual value of place of residence for households with no income
Medical social workers or administrative staff of the relevant hospitals and long-term care facilities will be able to assist you with your application for government subsidies, if needed.
Subsidy Framework
Government subsidies provided are based on the six-tier subsidy framework depending on the type of ILTC service required. This is shown in Tables 1 to 3.
Table 1: Subsidies for Inpatient Sub-Acute and Rehabilitative Care at Community Hospitals
Revised Inpatient Sub-Acute and Rehabilitative Care Subsidy Levels
|
|---|
Monthly Per Capita Household Income (PCHI)1
| Singapore Citizens
| Permanent Residents
|
No PCHI
| Annual Value2 ≤ $13,000: 80%
Annual Value > $13,000: 30%
| Annual Value ≤ $13,000: 50%
Annual Value > $13,000: 15% |
$1,200 and below
| 80% | 50% |
| $1,201 to $2,000 | 70% | 40% |
| $2,001 to $2,200 | 60% | 30% |
| $2,201 to $2,800 | 50% | 25%
|
| $2,801 to $3,300 | 40% | 20% |
$3,301 and above
| 30% | 15%
|
1Monthly PCHI is computed as the total gross household monthly income divided by the total number of family members living together in the household. Gross monthly household income includes basic employment income, trade/self-employed income, overtime pay, allowances, cash awards, commissions, and bonuses.
2Annual Value is the estimated gross annual rent of a property if it were to be rented out, excluding furnishings and maintenance fees. It is determined by IRAS, and may be checked via mytax.iras.gov.sg. Please note that the revision of AVs in 2023 will not affect subsidy eligibility, as AVs as of 2022 will be used to determine subsidy levels in 2023.
Table 2: Subsidies for Residential Long-Term Care Services
Current Subsidy Levels for Residential LTC Services
|
|---|
Monthly Per Capita Household Income (PCHI)1 | Singapore Citizens | Permanent Residents |
No PCHI
| Annual Value2 ≤ $13,000: 75%
Annual Value > $13,000: 0% | Annual Value ≤ $13,000: 50%
Annual Value > $13,000: 0%
|
$800 and below
| 75% | 50%
|
$801 - $1,200
| 60% | 40%
|
| $1,201 - $1,900 | 50% | 30% |
| $1,901 - $2,000 | 40% | 20% |
| $2,001 - $2,800 | 20%
| 10%
|
$2,801 and above
| 0% | 0%
|
1 Monthly PCHI is computed as the total gross household monthly income divided by the total number of family members living together in the household. Gross monthly household income includes basic employment income, trade/self-employed income, overtime pay, allowances, cash awards, commissions, and bonuses.
2Annual Value is the estimated gross annual rent of a property if it were to be rented out, excluding furnishings and maintenance fees. It is determined by IRAS, and may be checked via mytax.iras.gov.sg. Please note that the revision of AVs in 2023 will not affect subsidy eligibility, as AVs as of 2022 will be used to determine subsidy levels in 2023.
Residential Long-Term Care (LTC) services include Chronic Sick (High/ Low) services, Nursing Home services, Inpatient Hospice Palliative Care Services, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Homes and Psychiatric Sheltered Homes.
Table 3: Subsidies for Non-Residential Long-Term Care Services
| Current Subsidy Levels for Non-Residential LTC Services |
|---|
Monthly Per Capita Household Income (PCHI)1 | Singapore Citizens
| Permanent Residents |
No PCHI
| Annual Value2 ≤ $13,000: 80%
Annual Value > $13,000: 0% | Annual Value ≤ $13,000: 55%
Annual Value > $13,000: 0% |
$800 and below
| 80% | 55% |
| $801 - $1,200 | 75% | 50% |
| $1,201 - $1,900 | 60% | 40% |
| $1,901 - $2,000 | 50% | 30% |
| $2,001 - $2,800 | 30%
| 15%
|
$2,801 and above
| 0%
| 0%
|
1Monthly PCHI is computed as the total gross household monthly income divided by the total number of family members living together in the household. Gross monthly household income includes basic employment income, trade/self-employed income, overtime pay, allowances, cash awards, commissions, and bonuses.
2Annual Value is the estimated gross annual rent of a property if it were to be rented out, excluding furnishings and maintenance fees. It is determined by IRAS, and may be checked via mytax.iras.gov.sg. Please note that the revision of AVs in 2023 will not affect subsidy eligibility, as AVs as of 2022 will be used to determine subsidy levels in 2023.
Non-Residential Long-Term Care (LTC) services include home-based services such as Home Palliative Care, Home Medical services, Home Nursing services, Home Help services, and Home Personal Care, as well as centre-babsed services such as Community Rehabilitation, Maintenance Day Care, Dementia Day Care and Centre-Based Nursing, as well as Psychiatric Day Rehabilitation and Day Hospice services.
Table 4: Subsidies for Community Dialysis Services
Current Community Haemodialysis Subsidies Per Month
|
|---|
Monthly Per Capita Household Income (PCHI)1 | Singapore Citizens
| Permanent Residents |
$800 and below
| $1,267
| $1,014
|
| $801 - $1,200 | $889
| $711
|
| $1,201 - $1,900 | $635
| $508
|
$1,901 - $2,000
| $520
| $417
|
| $2,001 - $2,800 | $369
| $293
|
$2,801 and above
| $0
| $0
|
Current Community Peritoneal Dialysis Subsidies Per Month
|
|---|
Monthly Per Capita Household Income (PCHI) | Singapore Citizens
| Permanent Residents |
$800 and below
| $1,317
| $1,064
|
| $801 - $1,200 | $939
| $761
|
| $1,201 - $1,900 | $685
| $558
|
$1,901 - $2,000
| $570
| $467
|
| $2,001 - $2,800 | $419
| $343
|
$2,801 and above
| $0
| $0
|
1 Monthly PCHI is computed as the total gross household monthly income divided by the total number of family members living together in the household. Gross monthly household income includes basic employment income, trade/self-employed income, overtime pay, allowances, cash awards, commissions, and bonuses.