Means Testing (what it means for you)
What is Means Testing?
» It is a method to calculate the subsidies that an elderly will get if he / she needs step-down care services.
It takes into consideration:
› Gross income of the patient, his / her spouse and the immediate family members
› Number of family members
› Ownership of major assets such as private property
Why is it important? Who in the community benefits from it?
» Means testing allows us to assess the socio-economic situation of each patient in a methodical manner to
ensure provision of appropriate assistance
» This ensures the needy are looked after and prevents those ineligible from abusing the system
» Ang Mo Kio – Thye Hua Kwan Hospital (based on admission figures from 2006-2007) provided subsidies to 43% (actual no: 1, 998) of its patients
How is it done in the Hospital?
» More than 95% of our patients are referred to us from the Restructured Hospitals (RH)
» Before admission at our Hospital, patients are given the option to opt-in or-out of the Means Testing Procedure Only then will further subsidies be considered for the patient
» Patients need to provide all necessary documentation upon admission (click here for list of documents)
» Patients are then informed of the level of subsidy they will be given for the Hospital stay. The amount of the subsidy will be reflected in the bill given
» Patients who opted out initially can still choose to opt in after admission, to benefit from further subsidies.
The necessary means testing procedures will then be carried out |

"Actually, I didn’t expect to win the award at all. There are many other more senior nurses here at the Hospital, so I was very surprised when I was told that I had won."
Senior Staff Nurse
Ms Thelma M Bautista
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