CareShield Life: How To Use $600/Month Pay-Outs For Your Elder Care Needs

CareShield Life is a long-term care insurance scheme that provides basic financial support should Singaporeans become severely disabled, especially during old age, and need personal and medical care for a prolonged duration. Find out how to effectively utilise your payouts for your long-term care needs in this handy Homage article!

The risk of severe disability over our lifetimes may be relatively small, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored. Unlikely but high-impact events like severe disability have the potential to upend our lives if we’re not prepared when they happen to us. In Singapore, however, CareShield Life offers protection against severe disability for citizens. 

CareShield Life is a long-term care insurance scheme that provides basic financial support in the event that you suffer a severe disability especially in your old age and require prolonged personal and medical care. 

CareShield Life Benefits

CareShield Life offers several key benefits:

Lifetime Coverage

Under CareShield Life, you will continue to enjoy lifetime coverage after paying off all your premiums which happens either ten years after enrolling in the scheme, or when you turn 67 years old.

Lifetime Cash Payouts

Monthly payouts will be given to you for as long as your severe disability lasts. 

These payouts are doled out in cash so both you and your caregiver have the flexibility to decide on your desired care arrangements (e.g. home care or nursing home care)

Monthly Payouts of $600 or More

• Starting at $600 in 2020, monthly payouts for CareShield Life will increase year by year until you turn 67 years old, or when you make a successful claim.  Do note that when you successfully make a new claim, your monthly payout amount will remain fixed for the duration of your severe disability.
• From 2020 to 2025, payouts will increase at 2% per year. Payout increases and corresponding premium adjustments will then be recommended by an independent CareShield Life Council.
• If you are 67 or older when enrolling in CareShield Life, i.e. born in 1954 and earlier, your monthly payout will be fixed at $612/month.

Source: Ministry of Health

Worldwide Coverage

Regardless of where you reside or where you go, coverage will be provided and you will able to make a claim and receive payouts anywhere in the world. 

Careshield Life Eligibility 

Singaporeans born in 1980 or later

You are automatically covered under CareShield Life from 1 October 2020, or when you turn 30, whichever is later. You will receive a letter about 2 months before your 30th birthday, and your personalised CareShield Life premiums will be made available closer to your 30th birthday here.

Singaporeans born in 1979 or earlier

Participation is optional except for non-severely disabled foreigners who become Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents from 1st Oct 2020 onwards and are born in 1979 or earlier.

If you are born between 1970 and 1979, insured under ElderShield 400, and not severely disabled, you will be automatically enrolled into CareShield Life from 1 December 2021. No action is required if you wish to join CareShield Life. You will receive a CareShield Life welcome package, which provides more information on your CareShield Life coverage and personalised premiums. If you do not wish to remain on CareShield Life, you can opt out by 31 Dec 2023.

If you are not automatically enrolled and wish to join CareShield Life, you may access the Application to join CareShield Life e-Service with your Singpass.

What Is Long-Term Care?

Long-Term care can involve a variety of services that are designed to help meet a person’s health and personal care needs over a duration of time. Such services are designed to help people live independently and safely as possible when they are unable to perform daily living activities anymore. 

Long-term care can be provided by professional healthcare services like Homage. 

Some of the personal home care services that Homage Care Pros can help deliver for long-term care include help with:

• Eating
• Bathing
• Getting dressed
• Toileting
• Transferring
• Continence

Why Get Caregiving Services at Home?

Whether you’re a caregiver or a care recipient, having care delivered at home is always more convenient and comfortable. It may therefore be wiser to strongly consider caregiving services at home as opposed to day care center services or stays in community hospitals. 

How To Utilise $600/Month Payouts For Your Loved One’s Elder Care Needs 

So how can we best utilise the CareShield Life $600 monthly payouts for our loved ones? 

First, let’s think about what type of Homage Services you can purchase for $600:

Imagine for instance, that your loved one returns home from a hospital stay and requires long-term care for the next 6 months for adequate recovery. 

Providing long-term care to your loved one for such a long duration can be taxing, especially if they have niche healthcare and personal needs due to their severe disability. 

1. 40-Hour Prepaid Home Care Package

To make things easier, you could consider buying Homage’s 40-hour Prepaid Care Relief Home Care Package.

Depending on your loved ones’ specific needs, you can choose either a 40-hour Activities of Daily Living (ADL) caregiver package or a 40-hour Activities of Daily Living (ADL) & Simple Nursing nurse package. 

As seen from the table, after applying CareShield Life 40-hour prepaid package will cost $11 or even less per hour.

How you use your 40-hour package is entirely up to you, but you could consider a weekly care plan with five 8-hour sessions spread across the week:

During the 8-hour session, our Homage Care Pros can handle all ADL for your loved ones and even provide simple nursing services like wound dressing if you choose the nurse care package. 

Here’s a quick illustration on how you can utilise a 40-Hour Home Care Package for Dementia Care:

Homage also provides add-on services to ensure that you are able to provide holistic care for your loved ones. You may also use your CareShield Life payouts for the following services:

2. In-Person Care Assessment (IPCA)

Managing a severe disability is not only hard for the care recipient, but also for caregivers. In order to provide adequate and sufficient care for your loved ones, it might be prudent to consider getting an in-person care assessment with Homage so you can have a holistic understanding of your loved one’s care needs. Every individual is unique, and it is important to know more in-depth about the care needs you and your loved ones have.

During the care assessment, areas that your loved one will be assessed include:

• Mobility status
• Communication ability
• Cognitive function
• Any special needs
• Living environment

For further information or bookings, click here.

3. Physiotherapy Sessions (Best for Elderly with Mobility Issues)

Physiotherapy is best suited for elderly with mobility issues and can be used for a variety of medical conditions: 

• Injury
• Chronic Pain
• Arthritis
• Cerebral Palsy
• Parkinson’s
• Stroke

For more information or booking with Homage, click here.

4. Speech Therapy (Best for Stroke Recovery)

Other than speech disorders like stuttering, speech therapy can actually help with other conditions that arise from severe disability as well.

These include: 

• Swallowing difficulties
• Speech impairments
• Vocalisation problems
• Language disorders
• Effective communication
• Social skills

For more information or bookings with Homage, click here. 

5. Nursing Procedures 

Homage Nurses are also qualified to assist your loved ones with nursing procedures that include:

• NGT Feeding
• PEG Feeding
• Medication Administration
• Urine Bag Drainage
• Oxygen Therapy (Mask / BIPAP / CPAP)
• Oral Suctioning
• Open Tracheostomy Suctioning
• Blood Glucose Check
• Stoma Bag Drainage

For further enquiries on Homage’s home nursing services, click here. 

6. Purchase Mobility/ Assistive Devices 

Your CareShield Life monthly Cash Payouts can also be used to purchase mobility or assistive devices to aid in you or your loved ones daily living.

These can include: 

Vision aids

Glasses or magnifying devices can help with poor vision or protection from the sun.

Toilet and shower aids

Portable commodes, raised toilet seats, grab bars, and handles make it more convenient for seniors to use the bathroom.

Hearing aids

Electronic devices can be placed inside or behind the ear to amplify sounds so that the seniors can hear clearly.

Mobility aids

Walkers, canes, wheelchairs, and scooters can help with walking, balancing, or supporting your loved one’s weight to reduce strain on their muscles and joints.

We hope that this Homage guide has been useful for you to figure out how best to use your monthly CareShield Life cash Payouts!

If you require further assistance or would like some advice from our friendly Homage Care Pros, reach us at 6100 0055.

Homage provides caregiving services for your loved ones at every stage. Our trained care professionals are able to provide companionship, nursing care, night caregiving, home therapy and more, to keep your loved ones active and engaged. 

Provide the best care to your loved one today!  Fill up the form below for a free consultation with our Care Advisory team.