Latest news with #HouseholdMeansEligibilitySystem
Online Citizen
2 days ago
- Business
- Online Citizen
20,000 affected by HOMES means-testing error; MOH correcting inaccurate subsidies
About 20,000 individuals in Singapore have been impacted by a processing issue in the Household Means Eligibility System (HOMES), according to a statement released by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on 21 July 2025. The glitch, which occurred in January 2025, resulted in inaccurate means-testing for individuals with business incomes and their household members. Most affected received higher-than-intended subsidies and grants, while a smaller group received less than they were entitled to. HOMES, which is managed by MOH, uses income information from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to determine subsidy eligibility. However, changes in data processing timelines in January 2025 caused the system to miscalculate business incomes. As a result, means-testing was inaccurate for individuals and households assessed between 1 January and 27 January. MOH schemes see bulk of impact; reassessments and adjustments underway According to MOH, about 19,000 people under its schemes were affected. Another 1,000 people under schemes administered by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), Ministry of Education (MOE), and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) were also impacted. MOH stated that HOMES provides means-testing results for various government subsidy schemes. Despite the number affected, MOH said they account for less than 3 per cent of all individuals means-tested in that period. Corrections have now begun, with reassessment of affected cases completed. MOH confirmed that from 21 July 2025, subsidy and grant tiers will be adjusted to reflect intended levels. Individuals who received higher subsidies will not have to repay any excess. Those who received less than intended will be reimbursed, with payments expected to be completed by November 2025. The affected MOH schemes include CareShield Life and MediShield Life premium subsidies and Additional Premium Support (APS). Individuals will receive the correct subsidies at their next policy renewal, while APS recipients will maintain premium coverage based on approved validity. Letters will be sent to all impacted individuals, who are not required to take any action. Under the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), affected cardholders will receive letters detailing necessary steps. For subsidies related to long-term care services, adjustments will be reflected in the next billing cycle or payout date. Schemes like the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund, Equipment Rental Scheme, Home Caregiving Grant and ElderFund are also impacted. Notices of adjusted subsidies or payouts will be sent to those affected. Subsidies for day surgeries, inpatient services, specialist outpatient clinics, polyclinic drugs and vaccines, and community hospital services will also be corrected. Public healthcare institutions will inform impacted individuals and adjust bills from July 2025 onwards. Where applicable, reimbursements will be issued automatically. Non-MOH schemes also affected; corrections to start from 22 July Non-MOH schemes have also been affected by the HOMES processing issue. For ECDA schemes, affected parents, preschools, and early intervention centres will be informed of adjusted subsidies from 22 July. Corrected subsidies will take effect from August 2025. Under the DigitalAccess@Home Scheme managed by IMDA, households affected will be notified from 22 July. Households that were under-subsidised will receive reimbursements automatically. Those who received higher subsidies will retain them for the remainder of their current DAH award validity. Their eligibility will be reassessed upon new applications. MOE will ensure affected students receiving higher education bursaries are informed through their Institutes of Higher Learning. No action is required from students. For children in MOE Kindergarten Care (KCare), corrected subsidies will apply from August 2025. Under MSF's Enabling Transport Subsidy, Taxi Subsidy Scheme, and Assistive Technology Fund, SG Enable will work with service providers to inform affected individuals from 22 July. Corrected subsidies will apply from August 2025. MOH emphasised that all affected individuals will be contacted progressively and no action is needed on their part. The ministry said the incident arose from a one-time misalignment in data processing timelines and added that measures will be taken to prevent similar issues in future.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Miscalculation of MOH subsidies and grants led to $7m in overpayments, $2m in shortfalls
Find out what's new on ST website and app. MOH said that the error had resulted in about $7 million in over-payments for about 90 per cent of the affected individuals. SINGAPORE - The issue that caused a processing error in a government means-testing system which led to about 20,000 people getting the wrong subsidies and grants has been identified, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on July 22. MOH, which manages the Household Means Eligibility System (Homes), said that the error had resulted in about $7 million in over-payments for about 90 per cent of the affected individuals, and about $2 million in shortfalls for the remainder of those affected. On July 21, MOH said that Homes had experienced a processing issue resulting in about 20,000 people receiving wrong subsidies and grants. The ministry said then that those who received excess subsidy or grant amounts will not have to return them , while those who received less than they were entitled to will have the difference topped up by government agencies by November. Homes uses income information from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to means-test individuals with business income, such as self-employed people - for selected subsidy schemes across the Government. What happened? For the 2025 year of assessment , IRAS' tax filing notification process began later in mid-January , compared to the preceding December in previous years, said MOH. This was to ensure CPF contributions for the full year were captured for more accurate income tax assessments. However, the 'system logic' at the time caused Homes to omit the business income of selected individuals. This led to inaccurate means-testing for individuals with business income and members of their households between Jan 1 and Jan 27, 2025. MOH said that Homes was first alerted to the issue on Jan 13 through a member of public's query when applying for subsidies, which triggered an investigation leading to the identification of the issue. The ministry added that it is currently enhancing the design of Homes for better integration and coordination with agencies.
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Miscalculated grants: Overpayments amounted to S$7m for most people, a shortage of S$2m to others, says MOH
[SINGAPORE] The issue that caused a processing error in a government means-testing system which led to about 20,000 people getting the wrong subsidies and grants has been identified, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Jul 22. MOH, which manages the Household Means Eligibility System (Homes), said that the error had resulted in about S$7 million in over-payments for about 90 per cent of the affected individuals, and about S$2 million in shortfalls for the remainder of those affected. On Jul 21, MOH said that Homes had experienced a processing issue resulting in about 20,000 people receiving wrong subsidies and grants. The ministry said then that those who received excess subsidy or grant amounts will not have to return them, while those who received less than they were entitled to will have the difference topped up by government agencies by November. Homes uses income information from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) to means-test individuals with business income, such as self-employed people – for selected subsidy schemes across the Government. What happened? For the 2025 year of assessment, Iras' tax filing notification process began later in mid-January, compared to the preceding December in previous years, said MOH. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up This was to ensure CPF contributions for the full year were captured for more accurate income tax assessments. However, the 'system logic' at the time caused Homes to omit the business income of selected individuals. This led to inaccurate means-testing for individuals with business income and members of their households between Jan 1 and Jan 27, 2025. MOH said that Homes was first alerted to the issue on Jan 13 through a member of public's query when applying for subsidies, which triggered an investigation leading to the identification of the issue. The ministry added that it is currently enhancing the design of Homes for better integration and coordination with agencies. In a similar incident in 2019, about 7,700 people who applied for and renewed their Chas cards in September and October 2018 received inaccurate subsidies after a computer system miscalculated their means-test results. THE STRAITS TIMES
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
About 20,000 people received incorrect subsidies, grants due to issue with means-testing system: MOH
SINGAPORE: About 20,000 people received incorrect subsidies or grants after a "processing issue" in a means-testing system managed by the Ministry of Health (MOH). Of these, about 2,000 people received lower-than-intended subsidies. The total value of under-subsidies is about S$2 million, averaging around S$1,000 per affected person, the ministry said in response to CNA's queries. The remaining 18,000 received higher subsidies, with the total value amounting to about S$7 million – around S$390 per affected individual. In a media release on Monday (Jul 21), MOH said it has completed the reassessment of the affected people. "MOH will adjust their means-test and subsidy tiers back to the intended levels from Jul 21, 2025 onwards," it added. For those who received an over-subsidy, they will not have to return the excess subsidy or grant amounts that have already been paid. "For the minority of individuals who received lower than intended subsidies and/or grants, agencies will make good the difference," said the ministry. The means-testing system managed by MOH, called the Household Means Eligibility System (HOMES), typically uses income information from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to assess individuals with business income. However, in January 2025, the system could not appropriately account for the business incomes of selected individuals following changes in the data processing timelines. This led to "inaccurate means-testing" for individuals with business incomes and members of their households between Jan 1 and Jan 27, MOH said. Affected schemes and what to expect AFFECTED MOH SCHEMES CareShield Life and MediShield Life premium subsidies and Additional Premium Support (APS) Affected individuals will receive the correct premium subsidies at their next policy renewal. APS recipients will continue to have their premiums covered based on their approved validity period. All affected individuals will be notified via letter. No action is required on their part. Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) Affected CHAS cardholders will receive letters detailing any required actions, if any. Subsidies for long-term care services Affected individuals will receive the corrected subsidies from the next billing cycle or payout date. Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund, Equipment Rental Scheme, Home Caregiving Grant and ElderFund Affected individuals will be informed of their adjusted subsidy or payout. Subsidies for day surgeries, inpatient services, specialist outpatient clinics, polyclinic drugs/vaccines and community hospital services From July 2025, public healthcare institutions will notify individuals who received lower-than-intended subsidies and adjust their bills accordingly. Reimbursements will be issued where applicable. No action is required from individuals. AFFECTED NON-MOH SCHEMES ECDA: Preschool subsidies and early intervention schemes ECDA will inform affected parents, preschools and early intervention centres of the adjusted subsidies from Jul 22. The corrected subsidies will take effect from August 2025 onwards. IMDA: DigitalAccess@Home Scheme (DAH) The affected households will be informed from Jul 22. Households who were under-subsidised will receive the correct subsidies and be automatically reimbursed. Those with higher subsidies will continue to receive them for the remaining validity period of the household's current DAH award. Their eligibility will be reviewed when they apply for a new DAH award. MOE: Higher education bursaries and Kindergarten Care (KCare) additional subsidies The Institutes of Higher Learning will inform affected students. No action is required from the students. Affected children attending MOE KCare will have their corrected subsidies applied from August 2025 and will be notified accordingly. SG Enable will work with service providers to inform the affected individuals receiving the subsidies from Jul 22. The corrected subsidies will apply from August 2025 onwards. Around 19,000 people who are under schemes administered by MOH were affected, the Health Ministry said. Another 1,000 people were also affected despite being under other schemes managed by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), Ministry of Education (MOE), and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). This is because "HOMES also provides means-testing results for selected subsidy schemes across the government", MOH added. Those affected by the issue represent less than 3 per cent of all individuals means-tested during the Jan 1 to Jan 27 period, the ministry said. MOH said that the agencies will reach out to inform affected individuals progressively, and there is no action required on their part.
AsiaOne
2 days ago
- Business
- AsiaOne
Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH, Singapore News
About 20,000 people received the wrong subsidies and grants owing to a processing issue in a government means-testing system. The Ministry of Health (MOH), which manages the Household Means Eligibility System (Homes), said on July 21 that corrections to the subsidy and grant levels of those affected are in progress. The ministry added that it has completed a reassessment of the affected individuals' subsidy tiers. The majority of those affected received more subsidies and grants than they were entitled to, said the ministry. They will not have to return the excess subsidy or grant amounts that have already been paid out. Those who received less than they were entitled to will have the difference topped up by government agencies, said MOH. They will receive the reimbursement payments by November. MOH said it will adjust the means-test and subsidy tiers of affected individuals to the intended levels from July 21. Homes uses income information from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to means-test individuals with business income. It provides means-testing results for selected subsidy schemes across the Government. Explaining the processing issue, MOH said that, in January, Homes could not appropriately account for the business income of some people after changes to data processing timelines. This caused miscalculations in the means-test results of these individuals and members of their households between Jan 1 and 27, said MOH. It added that the roughly 20,000 affected people represent less than 3 per cent of all individuals means-tested during this period. MOH said about 19,000 people were affected for schemes under MOH, while around 1,000 individuals were affected for other schemes under the Early Childhood Development Agency, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Ministry of Education and Infocomm Media Development Authority. The MOH schemes affected by the processing issue are: Health Assist Scheme (Chas) Subsidies for CareShield Life or MediShield Life premiums and Additional Premium Support Subsidies for long-term care services Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund Equipment Rental Scheme Home Caregiving Grant ElderFund Subsidies at public healthcare institutions for day surgery, inpatient services, specialist outpatient clinics, polyclinic drugs/vaccines and community hospital services Schemes by other government agencies affected by the processing issue are: Early Childhood Development Agency's pre-school subsidies and early intervention schemes Infocomm Media Development Authority's DigitalAccess@Home Scheme Ministry of Education's Higher Education Bursaries and Kindergarten Care Additional Subsidies Ministry of Social and Family Development's Enabling Transport Subsidy, Taxi Subsidy Scheme and Assistive Technology Fund Agencies will reach out to inform those impacted by the processing issue progressively. These individuals do not have to take any action on their part, said MOH. In a similar incident in 2019, about 7,700 people who applied for and renewed their Chas cards in September and October 2018 received inaccurate subsidies after a computer system miscalculated their means-test results. about 7,700 people who applied for and renewed their Chas cards in September and October 2018 received inaccurate subsidies The Straits Times has contacted MOH for more information. This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
