Singapore to extend MediShield Life coverage to preventive cancer surgeries

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will extend MediShield Life coverage to selected risk-reducing surgeries and increase MediSave withdrawal limits for chronic and preventive care.

These measures were announced during the Committee of Supply debate on 5 March 2026.

The policy shift is designed to strengthen support for long-term healthcare needs. It comes as Singapore manages the demands of a super-aged society, where more than one in five citizens was aged 65 or above as of June 2025.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung stated that advances in medical science have created significant overlaps between preventive and curative care.

He noted that high-risk individuals unable to access preventive surgery often require expensive cancer treatments later.

MediShield Life will be extended to cover preventive surgeries in specific cases.

According to MOH, these procedures must be medically indicated and recommended by a clinician following a positive test for associated genetic mutations.

The ministry clarified that covered procedures must be high-cost but low-incidence.

This ensures they are suitable for risk-pooling. The expansion must also remain cost-neutral or cost-saving to avoid affecting the affordability of insurance premiums.

Based on these criteria, coverage will first apply to risk-reducing surgeries for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC).

This includes risk-reducing mastectomies and risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (RRBSO), which involves removing fallopian tubes and ovaries.

Coverage for mastectomies is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026.

Coverage for RRBSO is expected to follow in the fourth quarter. MOH confirmed that MediSave use will also be expanded to cover remaining co-payments for these procedures.

The ministry will assess other preventive surgeries on a case-by-case basis.

This process involves consultation with the MediShield Life Council to ensure expansions are scoped carefully.

The priority remains keeping premiums affordable for the general population.

Minister Ong noted that approximately one in 150 individuals in Singapore carries genetic mutations, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2. These mutations substantially increase the lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

To address this, the government will provide subsidised genetic testing for at-risk individuals.

This includes those with a family history of these diseases. Patients will receive genetic counselling before and after their tests.

If an individual tests positive, the government will offer testing to their immediate family members.

Genetic testing for HBOC is expected to be available by the end of 2026 for eligible citizens and permanent residents.

Eligible individuals will receive means-tested subsidies of up to 70 per cent.

Additional subsidies will be provided to seniors from the Pioneer and Merdeka generations. Patients aged 60 and above may also use Flexi-MediSave.

From the start of 2027, enhanced MediSave withdrawal limits will be implemented.

These limits will allow Singaporeans to offset the remaining costs of genetic tests after subsidies have been applied.

Beyond financial measures, Minister Ong announced the deployment of an artificial intelligence (AI) risk-assessment tool.

The tool is designed to identify individuals at high risk of developing diabetes or hyperlipidaemia within three years.

The system, known as Assisted Chronic Disease Explanation using AI (ACE-AI), was developed by the national healthtech agency Synapxe. It uses age and medical history to assess risk with an accuracy rate of over 75 per cent.

ACE-AI will be rolled out to doctors for all Healthier SG enrollees starting in early 2027. Patients flagged as high risk will undergo annual cardiovascular disease risk screening, increasing the frequency from once every three years.

According to MOH, systematically identifying high-risk individuals enables earlier detection. This strategy, combined with preventive care, is intended to delay serious cardiovascular events and reduce long-term healthcare expenditures for the state and individuals.