From April 1, 2022 employers hiring migrant workers who live in dormitories or work in the Construction, Manufacturing or Process (CMP) sectors must buy a Primary Care Plan (PCP) for their workers.
The article lists the key details that employers should take note of this new mandatory requirement from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Read Also: Foreign Worker Quota In Singapore: What Is It And How To Calculate It For Your Business
Primary Care Plan Provides Integrated Healthcare Services To Migrant Workers
The purpose of the primary care plan (PCP) is to provide migrant workers in the construction, manufacturing and process sectors with affordable and accessible healthcare services near their place of residence.
The PCP complements and does not replace the current mandatory medical insurance requirement for an employer to buy and maintain medical insurance coverage of at least $15,000 per year for each Work Permit holder for inpatient care and day surgery, including hospital bills for conditions that may not be work related.
This initiative also supports the government’s proactive public health surveillance to minimize the risk of future disease outbreaks in the community.
The Benefits Of PCP Include No Limit On The Acute/Chronic Consultations
One of the benefits of the PCP is that there is no limit or cap to the number of acute/chronic consultations that migrant workers can seek at MOM Medical Centres, Telemedicine or Mobile Clinical Teams. Workers can receive treatment for simple procedures such as the removal of foreign body, wound dressing, toilet and suturing and therapeutic injections.
For workers who choose to seek tele-consultation, they can receive their medication on the same day, if the consultation was given between 8 am and 5.59 pm. For the tele-consultation sought after 6 pm to 7.59 am, the medication would be delivered by 12 pm on the following day.
Workers will only be required to pay the operators an additional medical treatment fee of $5 for each visit to the medical centre and $2 for each telemedicine service.
Other services include one statutory medical examination for work permit application or renewal, which includes a medical consultation, physical and clinical examination, chest x-ray, and blood tests.
Aside from the statutory medical examination, one annual basic health screening is also provided under the PCP that includes a physical examination and a mental health assessment.
Lastly, migrant workers are also provided with scheduled transportation to and from the medical centre within the sector. This includes the provision of ambulance and other special transport services to other medical facilities, if need be.
4 Anchor Operators Appointed To Run Medical Centres In 6 Locations Around Singapore
Singapore was carved out into six geographical locations under the Primary Care Healthcare system and four service providers were appointed to operate the medical centres in these six sectors.
The four anchor operators are:
- StarMed Specialist Centre, which operates one medical centre in Farrer Park, manages Sector A;
- SATA CommHealth operates three medical centres including two centres in dormitories in Singapore’s northern and eastern regions, under Sectors B, C, and D;
- Fullerton Healthcare Group operates one medical centre at Gul Circle and two medical centres in dormitories as part of Sector E;
- Sector F is run by a non-governmental organisation, St Andrew’s Mission Hospital, which operates one medical centre at Penjuru.
It Will Cost Employers Between $108 And $138 Per Year
Employers need to buy the Primary Care Plan from one of these six anchor operators based on where their workers are staying. The PCP costs between $108 and $138 per worker per year.
The different PCP prices are due to the open, competitive tender that reflects the different costs to build the medical centres and the number of workers in each sector.
Employers can pay for the PCP in monthly instalments, which allows for easy termination if required. For example, in a situation where the migrant worker has to change his living quarters to a different sector, the employer can do so without having to worry about any upfront costs paid.
The table below provides a quick breakdown on the different service providers and their charges by the sectors and postal codes.
| Sectors/ Postal Codes | Anchor Operators (Locations) | Prices |
| A 01 – 10 15 – 2528 – 37 40 – 41 57 | StarMed Specialist Centre – Centre@Farrer Park | $138 |
| B 38 – 3942 – 55 81 – 82 | SATA CommHealth – 63 Loyang Way | $108 |
| C 5674 – 80 83 | SATA CommHealth – Woodlands Recreation Centre -PPT Lodge 1B 2 Seletar North Link | $136 |
| D 69 – 73 | SATA CommHealth – Kranji Recreation Centre – Sungei Tengah Lodge | $119 |
| E 6263 | Fullerton Healthcare Group – 47 Gul Circle – Tuas View Dormitory – CDPL Tuas Dormitory | $138 |
| F 11 – 14 26 – 27 58 – 61 64 – 68 | St Andrew’s Mission Hospital – Penjuru Recreation Centre | $108 |
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