A: Pre-authorisation is always recommended for planned treatments. It can ease the claim process and may help you enjoy higher coverage.

Find out more about using your health insurance.

A: An integrated shield plan consists of MediShield Life and additional private health insurance coverage.

MediShield Life is a basic health insurance plan that covers all Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

Key features:

• Managed by CPF
• Provides coverage for life
• Covers pre-existing conditions
• Covers treatment costs for Class B2 or C wards at public hospitals
• Premiums can be paid with your MediSave

Additional private insurance covers treatment at private hospitals or Class A and B1 wards at public or restructured hospitals.

Key features:

• Managed by private insurers
• Includes the option to purchase additional rider to partially cover the co-insurance and deductible components of the bill
• Premiums can be paid with your MediSave, up to the annual Additional Withdrawal Limits:
  • $300 per year if you are aged 40 years and below on your next birthday
  • $600 per year if you are aged 41 – 70 years on your next birthday
  • $900 per year if you are aged 71 years and above on your next birthday
  • Rider premiums can be paid by cash only

Note: The Additional Withdrawal Limits may be subject to change. Please visit the Ministry of Health website for the latest information.

Depending on the plan you purchased, integrated shield plans and riders can provide coverage for:

• Higher ward classes or stay at a private hospital
• Higher annual claim limits
• Claims for pre- and post-hospitalisation treatments
• Shorter waiting time to see specialists. At Mount Elizabeth Hospitals, Gleneagles Hospital and Parkway East Hospital, you can get an appointment with a specialist within 24 hours.
• Choice of doctors

If you have an integrated shield plan and rider, you may be partially or even fully covered (for some existing policies) for treatment and single-room stay at private hospitals.

To find out more about your integrated shield plan coverage, contact Parkway Insurance Concierge by calling +65 9834 0999 or via WhatsApp to +65 9834 0999.

A: If you had purchased a full rider with your integrated shield plan, it covers the deductible and co-insurance components fully. You do not incur any out-of-pocket expenses.

Due to the Ministry of Health's requirements, insurers no longer offer full riders from 1 April 2019. You may only purchase co-pay riders with a minimum of 5% co-payment. With the exception of Prudential's PruExtra Premier Rider, all full rider plans purchased by existing policy holders have transitioned to co-pay riders upon policy renewal from 1 Apr 2021.

With a co-pay rider, your out-of-pocket expense is:

• Not likely to exceed 5% of your total hospital bill
• Capped at $3,000, if you obtain pre-authorisation with your insurer prior to your surgery with a specialist on the insurer’s panel
• Subject to annual and lifetime policy claim limits

Your co-payment amount may be offset partially or fully by MediSave or your corporate insurance. Please check with your Human Resource department if you are covered under a corporate insurance.

For the latest policy changes, please check with your insurer.

Tip: Use our Hospital Bill Estimator to estimate your out-of-pocket expenses for common surgical procedures.

Claims-based pricing

As part of the recent changes, insurers such as AIA, Great Eastern and Prudential have also introduced claims-based pricing for selected Integrated Shield Plans.

With claims-based pricing, your rider premiums at each policy renewal are adjusted based on your claims during the previous policy year. The adjustments differ across insurers.

For example, if the standard premium for a co-pay rider at 38 years old is $722 and a claim is made at a private hospital in 2021, your premium for the next policy year (2022) will increase by 1.5 times to $1,083. The adjusted premium will revert to the standard level in 2023.

Please check with your insurer to find out more about your plan and premiums.

Note: This scenario is based on the Great Eastern TotalCare Elite-P co-pay rider as of 1 April 2021, for a claim amount higher than $2,000.

Extended Panel

Extended Panel is an initiative by the Multilateral Healthcare Insurance Committee (MHIC), which is appointed by the Ministry of Health (MOH), to allow integrated shield plan insurers to recognise each other’s panel doctors mutually. Under the Extended Panel, you may enjoy selected panel benefits when seeking pre-authorised treatments from specialists that are not on your insurer’s panel. If they are on other integrated shield plan insurer panels, follow your insurer fee schedule and meet their pre-authorisation terms. This initiative provides consumers with a wider choice of specialists and supports better continuity of care for patients.

To qualify for an Extended Panel claim, complete these steps before your planned treatment:

1. Obtain a pre-authorisation form from your insurer
2. Request for your doctor to fill in the form and submit it to your insurer

A: To find out if you have an integrated shield plan:

1. Go to cpf.gov.sg.
2. Log on to my cpf Online Services with your SingPass.
3. Go to My Messages.
4. See the Insurance section.

To find out the policy details of your integrated shield plan, please refer to your policy document or contact your insurer or financial advisor.

A: If you have an Integrated Shield Plan (IP) and a rider that provides coverage for private hospitals, you may be covered for treatment at our hospital.

Below is a list of private hospital plans and co-pay riders offered by various insurers:

AIA

• Plan: HealthShield Gold Max A
• Co-pay rider:
  • Max VitalHealth A Value
  • Max VitalHealth A
  • Max VitalCare*

Great Eastern

• Plan: SupremeHealth P Plus
• Co-pay rider:
  • TotalCare Elite-P
  • TotalHealth Elite-P

HSBC Life

• Plan: HSBC Life Shield Plan A
• Co-pay rider:
  • Enhanced Care

NTUC Income

• Plan: Enhanced Income Shield Preferred / Income Shield Plan P*
• Co-pay rider:
  • Deluxe Care Rider
  • Classic Care Rider
  • Assist Rider*
  • Plus Rider*

Prudential

• Plan: PRUShield Premier
• Co-pay rider:
  • Premier CoPay
  • Premier Lite CoPay
  • Preferred CoPay
  • Premier*

Raffles Health Insurance

• Plan: Raffles Shield Private
• Co-pay rider:
  • Key Rider
  • Premier Rider

Singlife

• Plan: Singlife Shield Plan 1
• Co-pay rider:
  • Singlife Health Plus-Private Prime
  • Singlife Health Plus-Private Lite
  • MyHealthPlus Option A*
  • MyHealthPlus Option A-II*
  • MyHealthPlus Option B*
  • MyHealthPlus Option C*
  • MyHealthPlus Option C-II*

Please check with your insurer for your full policy details.

*These are old rider plans that are no longer offered by the insurers for new customers.

A: Your integrated shield plan can also serve as an emergency medical insurance if your visit to our Accident & Emergency (A&E) department warrants a hospital admission with a minimum stay of 8 hours.

If your integrated shield plan and rider cover private hospitals, you only need to pay a minimal amount for both your A&E outpatient bill and your inpatient treatment.

Some policies also cover the A&E outpatient treatment up to a certain limit and can be used as both accident health insurance and emergency health insurance. Contact your financial advisor to understand your full policy details.