Tag Archives: healthcare

How To Cope With Co-Payment

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A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the changes to medical insurance here in Singapore. If you haven’t read it yet, please go and have a read. As of April 2021, all insurance companies in Singapore will have to introduce a co-payment system; whereby the patient will have to fork out a portion of the hospital bill, which cannot be claimed or reimbursed.

So how do we tackle this problem? I will explore a couple of solutions here; long and short term.

Short-term Solution

To counteract the impact of losing some of your money to co-insurance and deductible on a medical bill, you can choose to include a hospital income plan to your insurance policy. This plan will pay you cash each day you are hospitalised and recovering at home, regardless of the cost of the hospital bill. This is a good way to fill the shortfall that you cannot claim, and it can be used for each time you are hospitalised. This is a quick and cheap option to save on that bit of cash.

Long-term Solution

Medical inflation increases year by year, and it is a problem that will not go away. Obviously, a hospital income plan can only go so far to counteract the rising cost of healthcare in Singapore. There are some ways in which you can prepare for a bit hospital bill in the long run.

Consider adding an extra plan to your insurance portfolio that is kept only for long term use and emergencies only. You can start by putting a small amount of your savings into a plan that will grow this cash for you at a better rate than the bank. Not only that, you can include insurance coverage in this plan. So, if the worst should happen and you are diagnosed with a critical illness or become disabled, you have a lump sum pay-out to supplement the cost of treatment, or help you with adjusting to your new lifestyle. No one likes thinking about these things happening, but it is best to prepare for the worst before you run into any problems. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it will not help when it comes to paying for a hospital bill.

I have posted a QR Code below to my WhatsApp should you have any questions or need help planning this out. If you would like me to review your current policy I would be more than happy to do that also.

Singapore: Important Updates to Insurance You Need To Know About!

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As we all know, Singapore does not offer free healthcare; for locals, a lot is subsidised by their Medisave but for expats we must pay the full cost and wait for reimbursement from our insurers.

But there will be some new changes this year that all insurers in Singapore will have to follow, which will affect the consumer. Here’s what you need to know.

In March 2018, the Ministry of Health announced that insurers will have to stop offering plans that cover the full cost of hospital bills, and riders that do so will have to contain a ‘co-payment’ feature. This means that patients will have to foot part of their hospital bill, in order to keep healthcare costs sustainable.

From now on, if policyholders are hospitalised, they will have to pay 5% (at least) of the hospital bill. This co-payment is the government’s attempt to maintain policy premiums, and encourage responsible usage of the Singapore Healthcare System…doctors and patients alike.

So what can we, as a customer, do to ensure that we can keep up with these changes? The first is to double-check what your company provides in terms of insurance coverage, as company plans will often cover different things than personal. Second, ensure you have an accident plan that includes some medical reimbursement benefit. Therefore, if you are hospitalised due to an accident, you can claim somewhat off this plan. The third and, in my opinion, the best method is to ensure you have some sort of plan you can use as an ‘emergency medical fund’. Pay into this fund for a few years and, should anything happen, you can use this to cover the co-payment. It can also include features that will cover you should you become disabled, or suffer from a critical illness.

Have you readjusted your medical planning? Do you have any questions in regards to your insurance or future planning? If so, comment below or send me a message!