Liability for maid’s medical bills: Stop pushing the whole buck to employers

October 20, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Current Affairs, Maids 

Quick Snippets from the Editor
20 October 2009

The Manpower Ministry (MOM) told Parliament on Monday that there would be no maximum medical liability of an employer for foreign domestic workers in Singapore.

Furthermore, from January next year, the minimum insurance coverage for all foreign domestic workers will be raised to S$15,000 a year, from the current S$5,000 a year. Ostensibly, this rationale for this is to reduce the employer’s exposure to potentially large hospital bills.

However, these policies are clearly the Government’s way of forcing employers to shoulder all the potential medical liabilities associated with hiring foreign maids, no matter how large those liabilities may turn out to be.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Manpower Ministry, Hawazi Daipi, told Parliament: “Employers who make the decision to bring foreign workers into Singapore would bear the cost of their care. Otherwise, hospitals will run deficits which are ultimately paid for by the taxpayer.” (CNA, “No cap to employer’s liability for foreign domestic worker’s medical bills: MOM“, 19 Oct 2009.)

Mr Hawazi Daipi’s reasoning is as uncaring as it is flawed.

Corporations are in a position to provide medical coverage for the foreign workers they hire because of pooling of resources and economies of scale. Individual households often cannot do the same.

Many households in Singapore hire maids because of the need to care for the sick or elderly or the young. Making such households bear the full cost of medical care of their maids would only add untold burden to them, especially if the maid is unfortunate enough to come down with a critical illness during her tenure in Singapore.

Mr Hawazi Daipi’s point about hospitals having to run deficits should households be absolved from bearing the full medical expenses of their foreign domestic workers also shows the incredibly mercenery side of our Government.

If maids fall critically ill during their stay in Singapore, it must be the duty of the Government to step in and contribute towards the medical expenses incurred, because such events are completely outside the control of the employer.

It is ridiculous and cold-hearted to force households to take on such potentially large risks on their own. Unlike corporations, households don’t hire foreign help for a profit motive. They do so because the elderly or the young need care.

On one hand, the Government gives out incentives for procreation and enacts blunt laws to punish children who fail to care for the elderly. On the other hand, the Government makes it incredibly risky for individuals to hire domestic help to care for the young and elderly. Where is the logic in this? This is a clear cut case of the Government telling citizens what to do, and then making them shoulder all the risks involved.

Just like in policies such as CPF Life, this is yet another example of the Government shirking its responsibility and making citizens shoulder all the burden.

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Comments

11 Comments on Liability for maid’s medical bills: Stop pushing the whole buck to employers

  1. Azz on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 10:09 am

    2. That is in line with PAP’s attitude of “You die is your own business”. They prefer for a few to go bankrupt and suffer instead of spreading the risk over all the tax payers. By the way, how much tax increase would that represent? A few millions? Somehow there always seems to be more than enough money from taxpayers for vote buying programs like upgrading or ridiculous useless programs like SDU…

  2. The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Daily SG: 20 Oct 2009 on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 11:07 am

    3. [...] in a Strange Land – Sgpolitics.net: Liability for maid’s medical bills: Stop pushing the whole buck to employers – Frankly Speaking: Lesser mortals should not hire foreign workers – this lush garden within: What [...]

  3. John Cheong on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 1:35 pm

    4. I don’t agree that the government should bear any cost of anyone hiring an employee.

    However, I do think the foreign worker levy is unjustifiable in its present form and in the case of maids may indeed penalise those who need maids most.

    If the levy were instead channeled to provide private health insurance, we may then have found an equitable and mutually beneficial solution. My own private health insurance provides for accident coverage as well as illness and covers cost of medication, treatment, repatriation if overseas, and even loss of income. And I don’t pay much more than two month’s worth of maid levy for all that.

    Presently, the government collects money for doing nothing very much and I think maid employers should be required to take out health insurance for their maids, and the premiums for this should be taken out of the levy so that the total of the levy and the premium should be no more than the levy is currently. Preferably less, in fact, as I reckon the levy is way too high.

  4. Daniel on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 1:42 pm

    5. Respectfully, I disagree. Saying that the government should step in is equivalent to saying that maids’ medical expenses should partially be shouldered by other taxpayers, many of whom are too poor to hire maids, like me. Why should some of my taxes go towards reducing the insurance expenses of someone rich enough to afford a maid? On the other hand, if you think Singapore should have free and universal health care, then I would totally agree. No one in a first world country should have to bear risks of illness.

  5. sacral.nirvana on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 1:45 pm

    6. My, my, E-Jay.

    I’d say, stop pushing the buck to taxpayers, and while you are at it, stop barking up the wrong tree. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.

    Had the Government done what you demand them do, would this article instead be training its sights on how the uncaring PAP treats foreign workers better than Singaporeans?

    Sometimes, I just don’t get you guys. Cry nanny-state one minute, and cry for nanny-state the next.

  6. admin on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 3:06 pm

    7. Thanks for your comments.

    Not all households employing maids are rich ones. Many do so not because they want to, but because they have to (care for aged parents, young toddlers, etc) as a result of all family members having to work to support the family. Unlike corporations, families hire foreign help not for a profit motive, and so unlike corporations, they should not shoulder the full costs arising from medical circumstances that are obviously beyond their control. This is about the principle of fairness.

    In this case, Govt should bear healthcare costs over and above what is covered by normal insurance. Given that medical costs have been rising rapidly, even the S$15,000 insurance may not be sufficient. If the maid comes down with a dread disease, she may require as much as S$50,000 expenses, if not more. Should all families be required to purchase S$50,000 insurance? The Govt IMO should cover the remaining S$35,000.

    Daniel: Your taxes are currently being used for a host of frivolous purposes such as organizing F1 races that do not benefit the working class at all (think of all the inconvenience caused to small time shops and businesses, which is not compensated at all by the Govt). Not to mention the PAP often uses taxpayer money for political gain; see for instance this article by Gerald Giam: http://geraldgiam.sg/2009/10/how-pap-uses-taxpayer-funded-grassroots-for-political-gain/

    And not forgetting Ho Ching lost billions of our reserves (which are essentially citizen taxpayer dollars accumulated over the years) bailing out foreign banks. How does this benefit Singaporeans?

    So I would say, your taxpayer dollars are already being abused.

  7. contrarian on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 8:54 pm

    8. Whether employers are rich or not is not the issue. Simply, if you bring in a worker, you know your obligations and responsibilities as an employer, and choose to do it. Employers have to face up to their responsibilities to their workers that they chose to import, and manage their risks. If they want to buy the minimal insurance for their workers although they know that they are up for all the risk of further loss, they chose to do so.

  8. admin on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 10:35 pm

    9. I guess the general sentiment of readers is in support of current Govt policy regarding employers’ liability for the FDWs under their charge.

    What about potential for abuse? And not just in covering up pre-existing medical conditions on the part of maids and their agents, but also forcing employers to be responsible for behaviours of the maid, like getting pregnant, etc? Stifle the maid, and Singaporeans are accused of being cruel and abusive. But give them too much freedom, and employers take on too much risk.

    Kind of like being caught between a rock and a hard place.

  9. Fair dinkum on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 11:27 pm

    10. Be humane, spending marginally more to purchase a more substantial medical insurance for the foreign worker doesn’t sound totally unreasonable. Why make a mountain out of a molehill.

  10. Daniel on Wed, 21st Oct 2009 1:36 am

    11. You are absolutely right about potentials for abuse. I think that it seems reasonable that employers be required to purchase medical insurance. I dont think it is reasonable that employers be required to post a bond. I don’t think it is reasaonable that the employer should bear any responsibility in preventing maids from becoming pregnant. Maids are human beings, and many policies encourage employers to mistreat maids (fear of losing the money). Requiring a minimum amount of insurance coverage seems to be okay. Yeah, our taxpayer dollars are wasted on many other things too. Like minister salaries. I think we could make do with fewer ministers at lower salaries. NS is also a waste of time and money. If our government had better foreign relations, there would be no need for NS and the consequent drain on our economy.

  11. The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Weekly Roundup: Week 43 on Sat, 24th Oct 2009 11:05 am

    12. [...] in a Strange Land – TOC: Journalist assaulted for work on foreign workers – Sgpolitics.net: Liability for maid’s medical bills: Stop pushing the whole buck to employers – Frankly Speaking: Lesser mortals should not hire foreign workers – this lush garden within: What [...]

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