Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has welcomed a recent move by NTUC Income to adjust the renewal terms of its Integrated Shield Plan (IP) to require policyholders with hospital payment riders to pay for a portion of their hospital bill, according to a Straits Times report.
In a bid to keep health insurance costs sustainable, the ministry had informed private insurers in 2018 to stop offering riders on IPs that cover hospital payments in full, ordering them to instead offer new riders that require policyholders to pay at least 5% of their hospital bill, capped at $3,000.
Policyholders who had bought IP riders that fully cover hospital payments between March 8, 2018, and April 1, 2019 were given until April 1 of this year to transition to new IP riders, according to the Straits Times.
NTUC Income had informed policyholders earlier this week that their IPs will have a new co-payment requirement for renewals starting April, joining other insurers who have made similar announcements earlier this year.
MOH welcomed the move, telling Straits Times it “will further encourage prudent use of healthcare services, and keep healthcare costs sustainable for all Singaporeans.”
"We welcome and are supportive of the changes that have been announced, as they support MOH's overall healthcare cost management efforts,” MOH told Straits Times, adding that policyholders can “continue to tap their MediSave to pay for their co-payment amounts under all riders, subject to the MediSave withdrawal limits.”
