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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Wednesday (Nov 26) new rules for insurance plans to curb rising private healthcare costs.<\/p>\n
These changes will affect Integrated Shield Plan riders \u2013 private insurance add-ons that complement MediShield Life to cover the fees for higher hospital wards or private healthcare.<\/p>\n
From Apr 1, 2026, new riders will no longer be allowed to cover the minimum deductible, which is the amount policyholders must pay each policy year before insurance kicks in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition, the annual co-payment cap for new riders will increase from S$3,000 (US$2,300) to S$6,000. The 5 per cent co-payment requirement remains unchanged and policyholders can still use MediSave to pay for deductibles and co-payments.<\/p>\n
To illustrate how the new requirements work, let\u2019s take the example of a 60-year-old patient named Patrick. He currently has a private hospital Integrated Shield Plan and rider, but decides to switch to the new rider in April next year, saving him S$1,600 in rider premiums per year.<\/p>\n
Three years later, he undergoes knee joint replacement surgery at a private hospital, incurring a bill of S$56,900.<\/p>\n
As a private hospital patient, he has to pay S$3,500 in deductibles.<\/p>\n
After deducting this sum from the total, the 5 per cent co-pay cap means Patrick also has to fork out 5 per cent of S$53,400, which is S$2,670.<\/p>\n
His base Integrated Shield Plan will cover S$48,060. For the deductibles and co-payment, Patrick has to pay a sum of S$6,170, which can be fully covered by MediSave, resulting in no out-of-pocket costs.<\/p>\n
If he had chosen to stick with his existing rider, it would have covered the S$3,500 in deductibles. He would receive about S$6,000 in rider payouts, which is 95 per cent of the total bill after deducting what his base payout will cover.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From his total bill of S$56,900, the 5 per cent cap means Patrick needs to co-pay about S$2,840, which can also be fully covered by MediSave, resulting in no out-of-pocket costs.<\/p>\n
However, by switching to the new rider, Patrick had already saved S$4,800 of rider premiums in cash over the last three years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n