More to get help to cope with disability

April 12, 2007

By Yap Su-Yin

NEW HOPE: With counselling and emotional support from the Society for the Physically Disabled's case management programme, Mr Jimmy Tan, seen here with his mother, Madam Ang, has become less demanding and is considering taking up vocational training. -- DESMOND WEE

HOUSEWIFE Ang Ah Poh, 62, was at a loss when her son Jimmy suffered a stroke at the age of 32 that impaired his movement.

Depressed and unable to cope, he refused to speak. His temper soured and his mother, his main caregiver, bore the brunt of it.

Those were tough times, recalled Madam Ang in Hokkien.

'I waited on him hand and foot after his stroke, but I'm old and it was difficult to manage,' she said.

Luckily, five months ago, the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) put Mr Jimmy Tan on its new specialised case management programme, which turned things around for both mother and son.

Madam Ang said: 'With counselling and emotional support, he has become less demanding and more independent and is even considering taking up vocational training in future.'

The society hopes to repeat this early success with those who need help to cope with the stress and challenge of living with disability.

Previously, there was no service providing continuous counselling, case management and early access to resources and services after discharge from hospitals, said SPD's head social worker, Ms Lim Lutin.

At present, hospital staff can link a disabled patient to services offered by different voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), depending on his needs.

But it is done on an ad hoc basis and, since there is no follow-up, there is no way of knowing whether the patient is using these services.

'Some have told us they would not have felt so lost if someone had followed through that journey with them,' said Ms Lim. Her team has come across cases where disabled people have shut themselves away from society for years because they do not know how to get help.

'We need to be there to motivate the client to think about what to do with his life after his disability, because life has not ended yet,' said Ms Lim.

Catching them when they are 'in transit' between hospital and home is critical because this is a difficult period of adjustment, when both the patient and caregiver need plenty of support, she said.

So the SPD will put in place a system whereby hospitals or VWOs can refer such cases directly to SPD for 'holistic' help.

If necessary, SPD will link the clients - mostly adults - to other services it offers, such as therapy or vocational training.

More networking is needed though.

Currently, just Tan Tock Seng Hospital Rehabilitation Centre in Ang Mo Kio has tied up with SPD. It connects patients to SPD's 'specialised case management programme' about a week before patients who suffer physical disabilities are due for discharge.

Since last October, when the pilot programme was rolled out, the team has seen about a quarter of its annual target of 400 patients.

The pilot programme was given $300,000 in funding, to last two years, from the National Council of Social Service.

Said Madam Ang: 'For poor folk like me, unable to read English, having a social worker show me how I can help my child help himself makes me happy.'

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Make sure you have Critical Illness coverage

You should have at least a minimum coverage to protect against any critical illness. You can't determine the damage the illness will do to you. But you can ensure if any thing happens, you and your family are will have funds to get medical treatment and protect your income.

Don't be a burden to your family, click here to find out how you can get your free financial health check!

Insure against health costs

Lee Hui Chieh, Wed, Aug 08, 2007 The Straits Times

Everyone knows a horror story. A simple procedure turns into a nightmare of complications, inflating a hospital stay from days to months, and the cost in the process.

That was what happened to a Myanmar patient, Madam Daw Tin Nyunt, whose two-day stay in a private hospital stretched to 344 after a failed heart stent implant.

Her hospital bill also ballooned to $560,000, from the initial $15,227 estimate given by the hospital.

It won't happen to you?

Not if you make sure you are adequately covered, say financial advisers.

They say there are three kinds of insurance plans one should have to make sure that you won't be knocked for a loop by health-care costs: MediShield or enhanced Shield plans (to take care of hospitalisation costs), disability insurance and critical illness plans (to ensure you have an income if you can no longer work for a prolonged period).

MediShield and Shield plans

If you have nothing else, have at least a plan which will take care of hospitalisation costs.

The top must-have is MediShield or - its enhanced versions - the Shield plans, said Mr Eddy Cheong, 37, who heads independent financial advisory firm Providend's family office services.

MediShield is a basic hospitalisation and surgical plan that all Central Provident Fund (CPF) account holders have, unless they have opted out, or upgraded to a Shield plan.

After a revamp in 2005, MediShield now pays for 60 per cent of hospital bills, on average.

Shield plans, which are offered by private insurers and approved by CPF, have also improved. Some 'as charged' plans no longer place limits on the amount that can be claimed each day for hospital stay and procedures.

You can even buy a rider to pay for the portions of the bill that the policy doesn't cover, such as the deductible. So a carefully chosen 'as charged' plan could reimburse as much as the entire bill.

Policies are usually pegged to hospital ward classes. Choose a plan based on the type of services you expect, and what you can afford.

Mr Cheong's advice for buying MediShield or Shield plans: Go for the best you can afford.

He said: 'It's a question of insurability. If you go for something more high-level, you can downgrade any time you want.

'But if you start low, and want to upgrade later, there will be medical underwriting.'

Underwriting assesses whether a person is healthy enough to qualify for coverage.

Since you are more likely to develop medical conditions later in life that insurers would shy away from covering, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, you may not be able to upgrade to a better plan then. So, buy the best one you can afford while you are young and healthy.

There is another reason you should consider a better plan.

If the Government should introduce means testing in future - meaning giving subsidies based on actual income rather than on your choice of ward class - you could end up having to stay in a more costly ward than you wanted. A policy which is pegged to a lower class will not give you enough coverage.

Critical illness plans and disability insurance

Once you have your hospitalisation cover, think about that other big headache people face after becoming seriously sick - loss of income during the period of illness and recovery.

This is where disability insurance and critical illness plans come in.

While not as essential as Medishield or Shield plans, both should be taken up, Mr Cheong said.

They will pay out a sum of money to compensate for income loss, or to pay for nursing services, medical equipment and supplies and even tonics and alternative treatment such as traditional Chinese medicine.

Most insurance companies carry critical illness plans which cover a range of conditions. You should compare different plans from different companies to see which best suits your wallet.

Mr Cheong recommends insuring yourself for a payout of two to five years' annual income if you become critically ill.

The other should-have is disability insurance, which spans your working years. This will pay a monthly allowance if you become disabled and cannot work for a prolonged period.

This is different from total and permanent disability - much rarer and more serious - which is usually covered as part of a life insurance policy.

He advises insuring for a payout of 50 to 75 per cent of your current monthly salary.

Take note of the fine print though. Such plans lapse once you are out of work or out of the country for a certain period of time.

As you are nearing retirement age, you can then take up insurance for long-term care or disability, such as ElderShield.

Like taking the correct medication for a disease, buying the right insurance at the right time will cure your wallet's woes.

Which is the best Medishield or Shield plans should you choose? Drop us a line and get a free financial health check.

What are your CPF OA funds drawing 2.5% or 24% gains?

Assets managed by Singapore-based fund managers up 24% in 2006
By Yvonne Cheong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 04 July 2007 1443 hrs

SINGAPORE : Assets managed by fund managers based in Singapore grew by 24 percent last year to reach S$891 billion.

The figures were announced on Wednesday by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who's also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Speaking at the Nomura Asia Equity Forum, he noted that total assets managed here have grown robustly over the last six years.

Sources of funds flowing into and through Singapore have diversified, with more money being channelled from South Asia and the Middle East.

Some 84% of the assets under management last year were sourced from outside Singapore.

Said SM Goh: "The critical mass of asset management activity in Singapore is continuing to grow. In 2006, 57% of total AUM (assets under management) in Singapore was invested in the Asian region.

"Fund managers continue to use Singapore as their regional headquarters because they see Singapore as a prime location to service clients, raise capital from the region as well as invest into the region and beyond."

Foreign asset managers contributed for the bulk of the growth last year.

The number of hedge fund managers jumped by 76 percent, managing over S$40 billion.

Asia drew a greater proportion of the funds invested, accounting for some 57 percent.

The strong performance of regional stock markets last year meant that equities were a favourite, making up 55 percent of total assets managed.

The senior minister also noted that global financial institutions could tap into Singapore's growing trade links with the Middle East.

"Interest has centred on servicing Asian investors - primarily on project financing and loan syndication. I encourage you to take a wider perspective - consider making commercial banking, corporate finance, capital market services and private banking part of your long term growth strategy. You can explore possibilities for collaborating with Singapore-based financial institutions with strong know-how," urged SM Goh.

Mr Goh also noted that political integration is progressing more slowly than economic integration, as Asia is more diverse - politically and culturally - compared to Europe.

However, he added the basic direction has been set and the deepening integration will create the conditions and framework for the private sector to grow. - CNA/ch/ls

What are your CPF OA funds drawing 2.5% or 24% gains?

If your CPF Ordinary Account (CPF OA) is still drawing 2.5% p.a. from CPF Board, then you are missing out on potential earnings for your nest egg when you retire!

Current Singapore-based fund managers are up 24%!!!! That is close to 9X earnings / interest of what you are getting now with CPF Board.

Take active action by talking to us on how we can maximize the growth of your investment or retirement funds!

Are you covered for Critical Illness?

April 26, 2007

Kidney failure: Call for diabetes checks for those 40 and above

By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent

WITH kidney disease and failure reaching ‘pandemic proportions’ here, the fight against them should no longer just be the business of doctors and patients, a leading renal specialist has said.

Associate Professor S. Vathsala believes the national health-care system has to introduce a national screening programme for diabetes for those aged 40 and up.

She noted that in the past decade, diabetes has been responsible for 56 per cent of kidney-failure cases.

The renal specialist, who is also the director of Singapore General Hospital’s kidney transplant programme, predicts that by 2030, 14 to 15 per cent of the adults here will fall victim to diabetes.

The figure today stands at 8.2 per cent of adults.

She attributes the projected increase mainly to the population getting older, as older people are more likely to develop it.

Quoting foreign studies, Prof Vathsala said controlling the condition was key to cutting - by as much as two-thirds - the number of kidney-failure cases caused by diabetes.

But the last national health survey in 2004 found that half the diabetics did not even know they had the disease. With these individuals, diabetes is left untreated until the disease is at an advanced stage - which is when complications set in.

Prof Vathsala, who is also vice-president of Society of Transplantation, told The Straits Times that if each case of diabetes could be detected early, ‘we could potentially pick up kidney disease in at least 21 per cent of them at time of diagnosis’.

Left untreated, people with early symptoms of renal failure will lose the use of their kidneys in 10 to 20 years.

To make matters worse, Prof Vathsala added, chronic kidney disease is a known ‘disease multiplier’ - it increases a person’s risk of contracting other, often fatal, diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.

Diabetes is also linked to other conditions like non-healing ulcers and blindness.

In an article in the March edition of Annals, the newsletter of the Academy of Medicine, Prof Vathsala cited a list of facts to back her push for national screening for early detection.

They include:

· Diabetes is the eighth most common cause of death here; kidney disease is 10th.

· Diabetes accounted for 46 per cent of kidney failures in 1998. By 2003, the figure was 56 per cent.

· Patients on dialysis face a risk of death 22 times higher than the general population.

· The number of new dialysis patients has been going up. In 1998, there were 564 new cases, in 2003, 675.

The Health Promotion Board has no plans to introduce national screening; its stand is that diabetes can be staved off with a healthy lifestyle.

To this, Prof Vathsala argued that diabetic kidney failure peaked in people aged between 45 and 64, so a national screening programme for individuals starting at 40 would identify diabetics early; those at high risk of it should be screened even earlier.

She said a test comprising two separate fasting blood-glucose tests costs about $20.

Endocrinologists, the specialists who treat diabetics, have long called for early diagnosis as a way of preventing other serious diabetes-linked illnesses.

Dr Tan Chee Eng, an endocrinologist in private practice, recommends going a step further:

‘Screening is just the first step. There must be proper follow-up to ensure that patients keep the diabetes well controlled.’

Diabetes in its early stages presents no symptoms. Patients thus are likely to stop taking their medications, so they need to be under doctors’ supervision.

Do you know the cost for dialysis?

Would you have hundreds or thousands of dollars to pay for treatment?

Click here to have contact us for your free financial health check

Will paying hundreds or thousands for treatment be a problem?

April 26, 2007

Kidney failure: Call for diabetes checks for those 40 and above

By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent

WITH kidney disease and failure reaching 'pandemic proportions' here, the fight against them should no longer just be the business of doctors and patients, a leading renal specialist has said.

Associate Professor S. Vathsala believes the national health-care system has to introduce a national screening programme for diabetes for those aged 40 and up.

She noted that in the past decade, diabetes has been responsible for 56 per cent of kidney-failure cases.

The renal specialist, who is also the director of Singapore General Hospital's kidney transplant programme, predicts that by 2030, 14 to 15 per cent of the adults here will fall victim to diabetes.

The figure today stands at 8.2 per cent of adults.

She attributes the projected increase mainly to the population getting older, as older people are more likely to develop it.

Quoting foreign studies, Prof Vathsala said controlling the condition was key to cutting - by as much as two-thirds - the number of kidney-failure cases caused by diabetes.

But the last national health survey in 2004 found that half the diabetics did not even know they had the disease. With these individuals, diabetes is left untreated until the disease is at an advanced stage - which is when complications set in.

Prof Vathsala, who is also vice-president of Society of Transplantation, told The Straits Times that if each case of diabetes could be detected early, 'we could potentially pick up kidney disease in at least 21 per cent of them at time of diagnosis'.

Left untreated, people with early symptoms of renal failure will lose the use of their kidneys in 10 to 20 years.

To make matters worse, Prof Vathsala added, chronic kidney disease is a known 'disease multiplier' - it increases a person's risk of contracting other, often fatal, diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.

Diabetes is also linked to other conditions like non-healing ulcers and blindness.

In an article in the March edition of Annals, the newsletter of the Academy of Medicine, Prof Vathsala cited a list of facts to back her push for national screening for early detection.

They include:

· Diabetes is the eighth most common cause of death here; kidney disease is 10th.

· Diabetes accounted for 46 per cent of kidney failures in 1998. By 2003, the figure was 56 per cent.

· Patients on dialysis face a risk of death 22 times higher than the general population.

· The number of new dialysis patients has been going up. In 1998, there were 564 new cases, in 2003, 675.

The Health Promotion Board has no plans to introduce national screening; its stand is that diabetes can be staved off with a healthy lifestyle.

To this, Prof Vathsala argued that diabetic kidney failure peaked in people aged between 45 and 64, so a national screening programme for individuals starting at 40 would identify diabetics early; those at high risk of it should be screened even earlier.

She said a test comprising two separate fasting blood-glucose tests costs about $20.

Endocrinologists, the specialists who treat diabetics, have long called for early diagnosis as a way of preventing other serious diabetes-linked illnesses.

Dr Tan Chee Eng, an endocrinologist in private practice, recommends going a step further:

'Screening is just the first step. There must be proper follow-up to ensure that patients keep the diabetes well controlled.'

Diabetes in its early stages presents no symptoms. Patients thus are likely to stop taking their medications, so they need to be under doctors' supervision.

Do you know the cost for dialysis?
Would you have hundreds or thousands to pay for treatment?
Click here to have contact us for your free financial health check

Is travel insurance important?

April 14, 2007

TRAGEDY STRIKES HOLIDAYMAKERS

Tour bus crash on Malaysian highway kills Singaporean

By Reme Ahmad in Kuala Lumpur & Teh Joo Lin in Singapore

SURVIVOR: Singaporean Koh Hui Yap, 40, who broke her leg, was rushed to a hospital right after the accident. Last night, with her leg in a cast, she returned to Singapore with other survivors on another coach.

DEAD: Madam Tay suffered head injuries. Her two sisters were unhurt.

A HOLIDAY in the hills for a group of Singaporeans was tragically cut short when one of them died in a bus accident in Malaysia.

In an early-morning crash near the Batang Berjuntai exit of the North South Expressway, an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur, their bus was rammed into by a container lorry which crossed from the other side of the highway.

Madam Tay Sok Hoon, 52, a mother of three, is believed to have died at the scene from head injuries.

Her two younger sisters, who were also on the bus, escaped unscathed.

But a second Singaporean woman, identified as Madam Koh Hui Yap, 40, broke her leg in the accident, said Malaysian police. The 45-year-old Malaysian driver of the luxury coach, which was carrying 18 passengers, was also seriously injured.

Click here to find out how you can get protected

Do you have disability protection?

April 12, 2007

More to get help to cope with disability

By Yap Su-Yin

NEW HOPE: With counselling and emotional support from the Society for the Physically Disabled's case management programme, Mr Jimmy Tan, seen here with his mother, Madam Ang, has become less demanding and is considering taking up vocational training. -- DESMOND WEE

HOUSEWIFE Ang Ah Poh, 62, was at a loss when her son Jimmy suffered a stroke at the age of 32 that impaired his movement.

Depressed and unable to cope, he refused to speak. His temper soured and his mother, his main caregiver, bore the brunt of it.

Those were tough times, recalled Madam Ang in Hokkien.

'I waited on him hand and foot after his stroke, but I'm old and it was difficult to manage,' she said.

Luckily, five months ago, the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) put Mr Jimmy Tan on its new specialised case management programme, which turned things around for both mother and son.

Madam Ang said: 'With counselling and emotional support, he has become less demanding and more independent and is even considering taking up vocational training in future.'

The society hopes to repeat this early success with those who need help to cope with the stress and challenge of living with disability.

Previously, there was no service providing continuous counselling, case management and early access to resources and services after discharge from hospitals, said SPD's head social worker, Ms Lim Lutin.

At present, hospital staff can link a disabled patient to services offered by different voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), depending on his needs.

But it is done on an ad hoc basis and, since there is no follow-up, there is no way of knowing whether the patient is using these services.

'Some have told us they would not have felt so lost if someone had followed through that journey with them,' said Ms Lim. Her team has come across cases where disabled people have shut themselves away from society for years because they do not know how to get help.

'We need to be there to motivate the client to think about what to do with his life after his disability, because life has not ended yet,' said Ms Lim.

Catching them when they are 'in transit' between hospital and home is critical because this is a difficult period of adjustment, when both the patient and caregiver need plenty of support, she said.

So the SPD will put in place a system whereby hospitals or VWOs can refer such cases directly to SPD for 'holistic' help.

If necessary, SPD will link the clients - mostly adults - to other services it offers, such as therapy or vocational training.

More networking is needed though.

Currently, just Tan Tock Seng Hospital Rehabilitation Centre in Ang Mo Kio has tied up with SPD. It connects patients to SPD's 'specialised case management programme' about a week before patients who suffer physical disabilities are due for discharge.

Since last October, when the pilot programme was rolled out, the team has seen about a quarter of its annual target of 400 patients.

The pilot programme was given $300,000 in funding, to last two years, from the National Council of Social Service.

Said Madam Ang: 'For poor folk like me, unable to read English, having a social worker show me how I can help my child help himself makes me happy.'

What if there was another solution?
What if you can get an income even if you are disabled?
What if your loved ones could get professional help?
Would it make a difference?

Click here to contact your friendly reliable needs based adviser