7,700 individuals received inaccurate healthcare subsidies, announced the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a public statement on Feb. 16.

This was due to an error in the computer system administered by NCS, according to The Straits Times.

Some received more subsidies, some received less

It affected people who applied for and renewed their Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) cards between Sept. 18 and Oct. 10, 2018.

About 1,300 individuals received lower subsidies due to the error. Another 6,400 individuals received higher subsidies.

According to MOH, the individuals who received lower subsidies will have the difference reimbursed to them.

However, those who received higher subsidies will not have to return the difference.

The correct subsidies were restored on Feb. 16.

CHAS is a scheme that entitles cardholders to healthcare subsidies. In Aug. 2018, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced during the National Day Rally that it would be extended to those with chronic conditions, regardless of income.

First problem detected on Sep. 24

MOH first detected a discrepancy in the means test result of a CHAS-card holder on Sept. 24, 2018.

The CHAS processing team alerted NCS immediately, but the issue was attributed to intermittent network connection problems.

An error arose in the computer system when it calculated the means-test results, Channel NewsAsia wrote.

The means-test system calculates subsidies for eligible individuals, based on their income information. This is done so that people from lower-income households will receive greater financial support.

Between Oct. 9 and Nov. 2, 2018, five more cases were detected and a more thorough investigation was launched.

Steps taken

NCS traced the problem to a software version issue on a server used by the means-test system, which occurred when it was migrated to another government data centre in Sept. 2018, CNA reports.

Hence, the means-test results were calculated without the required income information.

NCS in fact discovered that its deployment team had fixed the software version issue earlier in Oct. 2018, in response to an unrelated issue.

This didn't stop errors in means-test results generated from in Sept. and Oct. 2018, but it prevented further errors from happening.

No action needed from the public at this point

MOH has worked with NCS to assess the impact of the error. The final assessment was completed on Jan. 14, and the means-test and subsidy tiers for all affected individuals have been corrected by Feb. 16.

According to MOH, no proactive action is required from the affected people, at this point.

MOH is working with healthcare service providers and scheme administrators to reach out to those affected, and arrange for reimbursements where needed.

Said MOH, according to CNA:

"Additional safeguards have been put in place to prevent any recurrence of such incidents. NCS has reiterated its commitment to being held to the highest standards as a service provider.

MOH takes a serious view of the incident, and has worked with NCS on appropriate remedial measures. MOH will work with NCS on measures to prevent such errors in the future."

Top image from MOH's Facebook page and CHAS's website.