SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Wednesday (Nov 26) new rules for insurance plans to curb rising private healthcare costs.
These changes will affect Integrated Shield Plan riders – private insurance add-ons that complement MediShield Life to cover the fees for higher hospital wards or private healthcare.
I already have a rider. How is the new version different?
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.
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.
To illustrate how the new requirements work, let’s 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.
Three years later, he undergoes knee joint replacement surgery at a private hospital, incurring a bill of S$56,900.
As a private hospital patient, he has to pay S$3,500 in deductibles.
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.
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.
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.
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.
However, by switching to the new rider, Patrick had already saved S$4,800 of rider premiums in cash over the last three years.
Source: CNA
