Gan Kim Yong : CHAS renewal application to submit every two years so Government able to update latest information

Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong said that households are requested to submit a renewal application form of Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) every two years so that the Government can verify and update their latest household information.
This is his response to questions filed by NCMP Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong who asked the Minister for Health whether the CHAS cards have been automatically renewed for households that do not respond to the invitation letter for renewal, whether these households receive the same subsidy tier upon automatic renewal, and whether the Ministry allows for auto-renewal to the same subsidy tier for retired senior citizens with no change in their household situation.
The Minister stated that a household’s eligibility for and level of subsidy under the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) depends on their latest household income or property Annual Value, as well as household composition. Therefore, households are requested to submit a renewal application form every two years.
He said that Ministry of Health (MOH) seeks to make the renewal process convenient for CHAS cardholders.
Currently, households would receive a reminder letter about three months before their CHAS cards are due to expire. For those who do not respond, another renewal reminder letter is sent about one month before their CHAS cards expire.  The renewal application form is included with the reminder letters.
He noted that he application form is pre-filled based on existing records, to make it simpler for households to update their household information.
Mr Gan also said that MOH also works with partners such as the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to publicise information about the renewal process, as well as to reach out and provide any necessary assistance to individuals and households who may not be familiar with the renewal process.
He noted that the CHAS application form is also available online, and at various locations such as polyclinics, public hospitals and Community Centres.
“We will continue to review the CHAS renewal process from time to time to ensure that it is convenient to the public and enables them to receive appropriate levels of subsidy based on their latest circumstances,” Mr Gan added.
In response to questions filed by Mr Pritam Singh, MP for Aljunied GRC, who asked the Minister for Health how many blue CHAS cards and orange CHAS cards were issued by the Government in 2015 and 2016 respectively, the Minister stated that there were 290,000 Blue and 170,000 Orange CHAS cards issued in 2015, while 400,000 Blue and 240,000 Orange cards issued in 2016.

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