Community care apartments part of wider housing and care options for seniors, ageing in place remains key: Tan Kiat How

Singapore is projected to become a "super aged" society this year, as more than one in five here is expected to be 65 years old or older. 

And by 2030, Singapore will have a million seniors aged 65 and above.

To this, the Ministry of Health's (MOH) approach is to provide seniors a range of housing and care options with different services, price points, subsidised and commercial products, said Senior Minister of State for Health Tan Kiat How in Parliament on Wednesday (Sept 9).

Tan, who is also Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, was responding to MPs Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang SMC), Dr Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar GRC), and Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang SMC), who had filed parliamentary questions related to demand and pricing related to community care apartments (CCAs).

"The most sustainable solution is for seniors to age in place, which is also their preference," the senior minister of state said in his reply.

He highlighted that aged care services have been brought closer to where seniors live by expanding the active ageing centre network, while enhanced home personal care has been offered.

Tan also stated that MOH is stepping up services under the Age Well Neighbourhood initiative at locations with higher density of seniors.

Other options, such as stay-in shared caregiving services, CCAs, as well as privately-provided assisted-living options such as the facility at Parry Avenue, will continue to be provided as part of the range of options, he said.

Perennial Living's private assisted-living home along Parry Avenue, operated by Perennial Holdings, determines its pricing and services based on commercial considerations and serves a niche segment of the population, the senior minister of state noted.

Turning to CCAs, Tan said that the Government provides eligible seniors with housing grants and offer market discounts. 

This is intended to keep them affordable for seniors, he added.

Tan noted that with the provision of more options to age well in the community, demand for CCAs has moderated.

Meanwhile, the same level of subsidies was extended to CCA residents following the rollout of subsidised services such as active ageing centres and enhanced home personal care.

"That is a key reason why we have lowered the CCA basic service package fees. 

"In particular, subsidies for care services by CCA staff are similar to existing subsidised aged care services, hence similar eligibility criteria apply, including requiring activities of daily living support, to ensure subsidies are targeted at those with care needs."

@asiaone Senior Minister of State for Health Tan Kiat How also highlighted that aged care services have been brought closer to where seniors live by expanding the Active Ageing Centre network, while enhanced home personal care has been offered. #sgnews #Singapore #Parliament #Ageing ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

CCA take-up rate at 7 in 10 units

Asked by MP Yip Hon Weng if factors such as location, mandatory services and eligibility rules may have contributed to lower demand, Tan pointed out that CCA is still considered a "fairly new product" in Singapore. 

He shared that take-up rate was about seven in 10 units across the five projects completed or announced.

"I'm sure attributes related to housing, like location, proximity to amenities, price points, perhaps familiarity with the environment all play a part. So this is hard to attribute to any one factor," the senior minister of state explained.

He reiterated that CCAs are part of the broader range of assisted-living facilities and long-term care support for seniors. 

On whether Medisave can be used by seniors to pay for service fees, Tan emphasised that one of the policy objectives of Medisave is to ensure that seniors have adequate savings to afford the basic medical support required as they grow older.

However, Tan said that this will be looked at as part of overall affordability considerations.

"We'll continue to learn from this experience. And going beyond the CCA, we want to bring these services to different neighbourhoods around Singapore to better serve our seniors," he added.

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