Medical insurance is the bedrock of financial planning. With medical advance in healthcare, it also comes with a price on our medical treatment cost. Before we discuss on the type of medical insurance available in the market, here are some of the key terms we need to understand:
Deductible: The amount you pay for medical expenses before your medical insurance begins to pay. For example, if your plan's deductible is $1,500, and your total medical bill charged by the hospital is $1,500, the entire medical bill is borne by yourself.
| Total Claimable Medical Bill | $1500 |
| Deductible of B2 ward ($1500) | $1500 |
| Co - Insurance | 0 |
| Payment by you (Deductible + Co-insurance) | $1500 |
| What is covered by insurer | 0 |
Co-insurance: The percentage of costs of a covered medical bill you pay after you've paid your deductible. For example, if your plan's deductible is $1,500, and your total medical bill charged by the hospital is $2,000, you will have to first pay the deductible cost of $1,500, and 10% co-insurance of the balance $500 ($2000 - $1500)
| Total Claimable Medical Bill | $2000 |
| Deductible of B2 ward ($1500) | $1500 |
| Co - Insurance (10%) | $500 x 10% = $50 |
| Payment by you (Deductible + Co-insurance) | $1500 + $50 = $1550 |
| What is covered by insurer | $450 |
As-charged coverage: The plan will reimburse you the eligible hospitalisation cost you have incurred, subject to deductible, co-insurance, admission of ward class, benefit limits and any other policy terms (including exclusions)
Pre/post hospitalisation coverage: medical cost incurred before the patient gets hospitalized and Post-hospitalization expenses refer to the medical cost incurred after the patient gets discharged after the treatment for the diagnosed disease (eg X-ray, Specialist consultation, physiotherapy)
‘Buying Insurance cannot change your life, but it prevents your lifestyle from being changed. An Illness can wipe up an entire family’s savings that they have saved for decades by the medical bill’ – Jack Ma
Here are the type of insurance you may be covered under, and what are the key features:
1. Medishieldlife (All Singaporeans and PRs will be automatically enrolled into Medishieldlife as a form of basic universal medical insurance)
Table 1. Coverage of Medishieldlife (Taken from MOH)
2. Integrated Shield plans
Table 2. Example of Integrated Shield Plan (Ntuc Income)
3. Group/ Company Insurance
4. International/Expat Insurance
The type of medical insurance covered are not limited to the above, but the general consensus are that we will most likely fall in the above classifications (mainly group 1-3).
Fruit for thought:
Depending on Medishieldlife coverage alone will not be suitable for most people due to their claim limits, as well as the limitations in ward coverage, and it is encouraged to enhance the plan to an integrated shield plan to have control over the choice of coverage.
There are school of thoughts of forgoing a personal medical insurance as they are covered comprehensively under the employer under a group policy to save money, however, the limitations of it is that it is not portable, and the insurance coverage will lapse once you leave the company. In times of economic uncertainty, and company restructuring which may occur, leaving up to chance on company insurance is a mistake. And also another reason why you may leave a company may be due to health reasons, and it will be too late to apply for your personal insurance by then.
We compare and distribute between the following insurers to recommend the most ideal health insurance that suit your needs, and affordability. Drop us a message for a detailed comparison for you!
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AIA | Aviva | AXA | NTUC Income | Raffles Health Insurance
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