Medical and Elderly Care Endowment Schemes Bill

This Act may be cited as the Medical and Elderly Care Endowment Schemes Act 2000 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

The Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of the different provisions of this Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“approved institution” means any hospital or other health care institution approved by the Minister under section 8;

“approved provider” means an organisation providing step-down care in respect of which an approval under section 23(5)(a) is in force;

“approved services” means step-down care provided by an approved provider in respect of which an approval under section 23(5)(a) is in force;

“authorised officer” means any officer authorised by the Minister in writing to exercise such power or perform such function or duty under this Act or any regulations made thereunder as the Minister may specify therein;

“Council” means the Advisory Council established under section 6;

“ElderCare Fund” means the ElderCare Fund established under section 18(1);

“eligible patient” means a person who is eligible to make an application under section 15;

“Medifund” means the Medical Endowment Fund established under the repealed Medical Endowment Scheme Act (Cap. 173A) and reconstituted under this Act;

“Medifund Account” means the account of a Medifund committee referred to in section 10;

“Medifund committee” means the committee appointed under section 14;

“organisation” means a society, body or group of persons, whether corporate or unincorporated;

“personal care” means assistance of a personal nature given to help a person who, by reason of any sickness, disability or injury, is unable on his or her own to attend to his or her daily needs or carry out his or her daily routine;

“recurrent costs”, in relation to the provision of any step-down care, means all such costs incurred or to be incurred by the provider in relation to its ongoing operations in providing such care other than the following costs: (a)the cost of acquiring the land on which the premises (whether built or to be built) at which such step-down care is or to be provided; and

“step-down care” means —

“step-down care institution” means any premises used (whether or not exclusively) for the purpose of providing step-down care therein;

“subvention” means a subvention under Part III out of the income of the ElderCare Fund.

For the purposes of this Act, step-down care shall be taken not to include any medical or health care provided in any maternity home or premises used or intended to be used for the accommodation of pregnant women or of women immediately after childbirth.

For the purposes of sections 3(2)(c) and 18(1)(c), the net income from investments shall be the amount ascertained by adding to, or deducting from, the income received from the investments of capital moneys any profit derived or loss sustained, as the case may be, from the realisation of such investments.

Any person who obstructs, hinders or impedes any authorised officer in the performance or execution of his duty or anything which he is authorised, empowered or required to do under this Act or any regulations made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

Any person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to answer any question, to furnish any information or to produce any document or record to an authorised officer in contravention of section 32(1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

Except in the case of prosecution of an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder, an authorised officer shall not be compellable in any proceedings to give evidence in respect of, or to produce any document containing, any information which has been obtained from any approved provider or approved institution in the course of carrying out any inspection, assessment or performing any duty or function under this Act or any regulations made thereunder.

Notwithstanding subsection (1), an authorised officer shall not disclose any information which is contained in the medical records, or which relates to the condition, treatment or diagnosis, of any person, as may have come to his knowledge in the course of carrying out any inspection or assessment or performing any duty or function under this Act or any regulations made thereunder unless the disclosure is made —

For the purposes of subsection (2)(c), “representative” means —

Where any offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder is committed by a body corporate, a partnership or an unincorporated association of persons, any person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, was a director, manager, partner, secretary or other similar officer, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, he shall also be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he proves that —

In relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, “director” means a member of the body corporate.

The Medical Endowment Scheme Act (Cap. 173A) is repealed (referred to in this section as the repealed Act).

Any approval, decision, notice or other document prepared, made, granted, issued, and any act or thing done or given, under or pursuant to the repealed Act and valid immediately prior to the date of commencement of this section shall be deemed to have been prepared, made, granted, issued, done or given under or pursuant to the corresponding provision of this Act and shall continue to have effect accordingly.

All directives or guidelines made by the Minister under section 9 of the repealed Act shall be deemed to have been made under section 7 of this Act.

Every Hospital Medifund committee appointed under section 12 of the repealed Act shall be deemed to be appointed as a Medifund committee by the Minister in accordance with section 14 of this Act.

Every Hospital Medifund Account established under section 11 of the repealed Act shall be deemed to be a Medifund Account established under section 10 of this Act.

All persons who, immediately before the date of commencement of this section, is a member of the Advisory Council under the repealed Act, shall continue as such member as if he had been appointed under section 6 of this Act.

Subject to the Constitution, any breach, contravention or non-compliance of the repealed Act shall be deemed to be a breach, contravention or non-compliance of the corresponding provision of this Act and the powers conferred on the Minister or any authorised officer by this Act may be exercised in respect of such breach, contravention or non-compliance.

Any application made to any Hospital Medifund committee under section 13 of the repealed Act which is pending immediately before the date of commencement of this section shall be deemed to have been made and shall be dealt with under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

Any reference in any written law to the repealed Act or any provision thereof shall, as from the date of commencement of this section, be a reference to this Act or the corresponding provision of this Act.

Any reference in any written law or document to the repealed Act shall be construed as a reference to this Act.

For the purposes of this Part, the Medical Endowment Fund or Medifund shall continue and be reconstituted in accordance with this Act.

There shall be paid into the Medifund —

The Minister shall be responsible for the administration of the Medifund and all moneys belonging to the Medifund may be deposited in any bank and invested in any investment authorised under the Financial Procedure Act (Cap. 109).

The Medifund shall be regarded as a Government fund and as comprising public moneys for the purposes of any written law.

For the purposes of this Part, the Minister for Finance may, from time to time, pay into the Medifund such sums of capital money as he may determine out of moneys to be provided by Parliament.

Notwithstanding the terms of any gift or bequest, all gifts and bequests given or made for the purposes of the Medifund shall be paid into the Medifund as capital moneys.

The capital moneys of the Medifund shall not be used for any purpose other than for investment.

Where at any time there is a permanent diminution of the capital moneys of the Medifund, the Minister shall, before paying out the income of the Medifund, make good such diminution from the income of the Medifund.

For the purpose of advising the Minister as to the application of the income of the Medifund, there shall be established an Advisory Council comprising such members to be appointed by the Minister.

The Minister shall appoint one of the members as chairman.

The Schedule shall have effect with respect to the Council.

The Council shall from time to time make recommendations to the Minister on all matters relating to the application of the income of the Medifund.

The Minister may, on the recommendations of the Council, issue to any Medifund committee directives or guidelines on the approval of applications from eligible patients and on the administration of the Medifund Account of that committee.

The Minister may from time to time authorise the payment of grants in such amount and to such Medifund committees as he may think fit.

The Minister may, in authorising payment for any purpose under section 5 to any Medifund committee or other person, impose such terms and conditions as he may think fit.

The Minister may require any Medifund committee or other person who fails to comply with such terms or conditions to repay into the Medifund any moneys paid under section 5.

Every Medifund committee which receives a grant under section 5 shall establish and maintain an account to be called a Medifund Account with a bank in Singapore.

The Medifund committee shall pay into the Medifund Account all moneys received as a grant under section 5 and any interest accruing thereon shall be paid into and form part of the moneys in the Medifund Account.

No money may be withdrawn from any Medifund Account unless such withdrawal is authorised in accordance with section 17.

A Medifund committee shall repay into the Medifund Account any moneys withdrawn in contravention of subsection (1).

Notwithstanding any other written law to the contrary, all moneys in the Medifund Account of any Medifund committee designated to approve applications from eligible patients of any approved institution shall —

The moneys in the Medifund Account shall, after deduction of any payment to the approved institution which has been authorised under section 17, be vested in and paid into the Medifund if the Medifund committee is dissolved.

Every Medifund committee shall cause to be kept proper accounts and records of all transactions and affairs relating to its Medifund Account and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the moneys and receipts of its Medifund Account.

Every Medifund committee shall, as soon as practicable after the close of the accounting period of its Medifund Account but not later than 30th June of each year, cause to be prepared and submitted financial statements in respect of that year to the auditor of the Medifund Account.

The accounting period of a Medifund Account shall begin on 1st April of each year and end on 31st March of the succeeding year except that the first accounting period shall begin on the date of the establishment of the Account and shall end on 31st March of the succeeding year.

The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, appoint one or more Medifund committees comprising such persons appointed by the Minister to consider and approve applications from eligible patients in approved institutions and to administer payments out of their Medifund Accounts.

The order under subsection (1) shall designate the approved institutions and the classes of eligible patients in relation to which a Medifund committee may approve applications under section 15 and exercise any other powers or duties under this Part.

A Medifund committee may sue or be sued in the name by which it is described in an order under subsection (1).

Every person who —

Every application under subsection (1) shall be supported by such evidence as may be prescribed and by such further evidence as the Medifund committee may reasonably require.

Upon receipt of an application made under section 15, the Medifund committee designated to approve such applications from such class of eligible patients of such approved institutions for the purposes of this Part may, if it thinks fit and subject to the availability of moneys in the Medifund Account, approve the application of any eligible patient of any approved institution in that class and authorise in writing payments of such amount as it thinks fit out of the Medifund Account to the approved institution to defray in whole or in part the hospital charges, fees and other expenses incurred by that eligible patient.

The Medifund committee shall, in considering any application and authorising payment, comply with any regulations made under this Act and any directive and guideline issued by the Minister under section 7(2).

The Medifund committee may consider any other circumstances which, in the opinion of the committee, is relevant to the application.

Notwithstanding subsection (1), a Medifund committee may authorise any person to approve the application by any eligible patient in exceptional circumstances and when the payment does not exceed such amount as may be specified in any directive or guideline issued under section 7(2).

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a Medifund committee or an authorised person referred to in subsection (4) to approve the application of every patient who satisfies the requirements under section 15.

There shall be established a fund to be called the ElderCare Fund into which shall be paid —

The ElderCare Fund shall be regarded as a Government fund and as comprising public moneys for the purposes of any other written law.

Upon the date of commencement of this Act, such sum as the Minister for Finance may determine out of moneys to be provided by Parliament shall be paid into the ElderCare Fund as capital moneys.

The Minister for Finance may from time to time after the date of commencement of this Act pay into the ElderCare Fund such sums of capital money as he may determine out of moneys to be provided by Parliament.

Notwithstanding the terms of any gift or bequest, all gifts and bequests given or made for the purposes of the ElderCare Fund shall be paid into the ElderCare Fund as capital moneys.

The capital moneys of the ElderCare Fund shall not be used for any purpose other than for investment.

Where at any time there is a permanent diminution of the capital moneys of the ElderCare Fund, the Minister shall, before paying out the income of the ElderCare Fund, make good such diminution from the income of the ElderCare Fund.

Any organisation which is a provider of any step-down care may make an application in the prescribed manner for approval to be an approved provider in respect of —

Where an application is made under subsection (1), the Minister may request the applicant —

The Minister may defer consideration of the application until the premises have been so inspected or the particulars have been furnished, as the case requires.

In determining whether or not to approve any applicant as an approved provider, whether in respect of all types of step-down care or specific types of step-down care and whether in respect of the provision of such step-down care at specific premises, the Minister shall have regard to all matters he considers relevant.

The Minister may —

The approval of any person under this section as an approved provider of step-down care shall be in force for such period as the Minister may specify.

Where the Minister approves any organisation providing step-down care to be an approved provider, the Minister shall publish a notification in the Gazette declaring the organisation to be an approved provider in respect of all types or specific types of step-down care or in respect of the provision of such step-down care at specific premises, as the case may be.

The Minister may revoke, or suspend for a period not exceeding 6 months, any approval of an organisation providing step-down care as an approved provider if —

Before revoking or suspending any approval under this section, the Minister shall notify the organisation concerned that revocation or suspension, as the case may be, is being considered, in particular —

The Minister shall notify the organisation concerned in writing of his decision within 7 days after the end of the period allowed by subsection (2) for making submissions.

A revocation or suspension of any approval shall take effect —

The Minister may revoke an approval (subject to such conditions as the Minister may think fit) if the approved provider requests the Minister in the prescribed manner to revoke the approval.

Where any suspension of approval made under this section is in force, the organisation concerned shall not for the purposes of this Part be regarded as an approved provider, but on expiry of the suspension, the organisation shall immediately revert to being an approved provider.

The Minister may grant a subvention to an approved provider of such amount as he may determine.

The Minister may determine different amounts of subvention for different classes of patients of approved providers, different classes of step-down care or different classes of approved providers.

In determining the amount of subvention under subsection (1) to be granted to an approved provider, the Minister shall have regard to all matters he considers relevant, including but not limited to —

In this section, “relevant patient” means a person who, in the opinion of the Minister, requires step-down care and is assessed by the Minister to be financially disadvantaged.

Any opinion or assessment of the Minister under subsection (4) that a person requires step-down care or is financially disadvantaged shall be final and conclusive and shall not be reviewed in any court of law.

A subvention may be paid to an approved provider on such conditions as the Minister may determine, including but not limited to conditions for repayment of subventions and admission of persons to any step-down care institution under the control and management of the approved provider.

The Minister may, at any time after giving reasonable notice to an approved provider, vary or cancel any of the conditions imposed under subsection (1) or impose new conditions in respect of any subvention paid or payable to the approved provider.

A subvention shall be payable to an approved provider quarterly or at such other payment period as the Minister may allow.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a subvention may be paid to an approved provider in advance in respect of any payment period referred to in subsection (1) at such times and on such terms as the Minister may think fit.

The Minister may, by notice in writing, impose one or more of the following sanctions on an approved provider that has not complied, or is not complying, with section 31(1) or with any condition of any subvention paid to the approved provider under section 27:

Before imposing any sanction referred to in subsection (1) on an approved provider, the Minister shall notify the approved provider concerned that the imposition of sanction is being considered, in particular —

The Minister shall notify the approved provider concerned in writing of his decision within 7 days after the end of the period allowed by subsection (2) for making submissions.

Any sanction imposed shall take effect —

This section shall not affect the operation of section 25.

If the Minister pays an amount to an approved provider by way of subvention, any part of the amount that is an overpayment shall be recoverable as a debt due to the Government and may be recovered by the Government in a court of competent jurisdiction.

If the Minister pays an amount to an approved provider by way of subvention and a condition to which the subvention is subject is not met, the amount of subvention as the Minister determines under section 29(1)(d) shall be recoverable as a debt due to the Government and may be recovered by the Government in a court of competent jurisdiction.

If an approved provider is liable to repay any amount under subsection (1) or (2), the amount (or part of it) may be deducted from one or more other subventions payable to the approved provider under this Part.

Every approved provider shall —

Every approved provider shall, as soon as practicable after the close of each financial year, cause to be prepared and submitted audited annual financial statements in respect of that year to the Minister or an authorised officer designated by the Minister.

An approved provider who fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

An approved provider shall not, in purported compliance with this section, make a record that is false or misleading in a material particular.

Any approved provider who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000.

An authorised officer may, to the extent reasonably necessary for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2), do all or any of the following:

An authorised officer may act as provided for under subsection (1) for all or any of the following purposes:

All expenses incurred in connection with the administration of the Medifund and the ElderCare Fund, including the cost of auditing the accounts of the Medifund and the ElderCare Fund, shall be defrayed out of the income of the Medifund and the ElderCare Fund, respectively.

The costs of auditing the accounts of any Medifund Account shall be defrayed out of the income of the Medifund.

The financial year of the Medifund shall begin on 1st April of each year and end on 31st March of the succeeding year.

The financial year of the ElderCare Fund shall begin on 1st April of each year and end on 31st March of the succeeding year except that the first financial year of the ElderCare Fund shall begin on the date of its establishment and end on 31st March of the succeeding year.

The Minister shall cause to be kept proper accounts and records of all transactions and affairs relating to the Medifund and the ElderCare Fund and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of the Medifund and the ElderCare Fund are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the assets and receipts of the Medifund and the ElderCare Fund.

The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after the close of each financial year, cause to be prepared and submitted financial statements in respect of that year to the auditor of the Medifund and the ElderCare Fund.

The accounts of the Medifund, the ElderCare Fund and every Medifund Account shall be audited by the Auditor-General or such other auditor as may be appointed annually by the Minister in consultation with the Auditor-General.

A person shall not be qualified for appointment as an auditor under subsection (1) unless he is an approved company auditor under the Companies Act (Cap. 50).

The auditor or any person authorised by him is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounting and other records relating, directly or indirectly, to the financial transactions of the Medifund, the ElderCare Fund and every Medifund Account and may make copies of, or take extracts from, any such accounting and other records.

The auditor shall in his report state —

The auditor shall —

Where the Auditor-General is not the auditor of the Medifund, the ElderCare Fund or any Medifund Account, a copy of the audited financial statements and any report made by the auditor shall be forwarded to the Auditor-General.

The auditor or any person authorised by him may require any person to furnish him with such information in the possession of that person or to which that person has access as the auditor considers necessary for the purposes of his duties under this Act.

Any person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirement of the auditor under subsection (1) or who otherwise hinders, obstructs or delays the auditor in the performance of his duties or the exercise of his powers shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.