GE cuts coverage for A and B1 policyholders who upgrade ward

Reduction in IP coverage reflects changes to MediShield Life that will take effect in April

- Salma Khalik

Insurance company Great Eastern Life (GE) has reduced significantly the coverage for its integrated shield plans (IPs) - which pay for non-subsidised treatment when a policyholder opts for a higher class of treatment than the class they had paid for.

So, someone with a public hospital Class A IP policy but who chooses to go to a private hospital instead would have only 35 per cent of the bill covered by insurance - down from 70 per cent previously. This applies to all who re-contracted with GE from October 2024. There is no change for patients who get treatment in the class they had paid for, such as Class A or B1.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) told The Straits Times that in 2024 "all IP insurers except Raffles Health Insurance had made changes to their products. These changes include adjustments to claim limits, coverage and benefits, to varying degrees". Most also increased their premiums.

All changes to IP coverage have to be approved by MOH.

The changes in GE's coverage caught Ms Sharon Chong by surprise. She had moved her 78-year-old mother, who has a Class A plan with GE, from a public hospital to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital because she felt her mother was not getting good treatment following a stroke.

She said: "Usually we won't study the insurance details till we make a claim. It would be useful if we were given an option to upgrade before they unilaterally enforced a change.

"Years of payment with the original contract had covered 70 per cent of private, based on the fact that bills for private patients in a government hospital are 70 per cent of private hospital charges. How can it change to 35 per cent just like that?"

Fortunately, her mother was still covered under the previous contract, so she received 70 per cent coverage.