Integrated Shield Plan lifetime premiums vary widely across insurers

MOH data shows significant differences, even for plans pegged to same ward class

- Salma Khalik

Two people of the same age buying an Integrated Shield Plan (IP) for private hospital treatment can pay a difference of more than $85,000 over their lifetimes-depending on which insurance company they are with.

An IP is optional health coverage provided by private insurance companies, typically to cover stays in A or Bl-type wards in public hospitals or private hospitals. A total of 2.9 million people here, or more than 70 per cent, have signed up with one of seven insurers offering such coverage.

Data published for the first time by the Ministry of Health (MOH) shows that premiums can vary significantly, even for plans pegged to the same ward class, since both coverage and price are determined by the insurer.

MOH's website shows the premiums that people have to pay for IPs from the time of birth to the age of 100, based on rates in effect on April 1.

Buying the most expensive private hospital IP by AIA can set a person back by $323,900, the bulk of which has to be paid in cash. In contrast, the three cheapest, by Raffles, HSBC and Income, cost between $234,400 and $238,400.

For public hospital IPs, the difference between the most expensive and the cheapest is more than $50,000 for Class A coverage, and about $35,000 for Class B1. Both are private wards.

Choosing one's IP wisely has been a common refrain from MOH in the past few years, and publishing premiums makes it easier for people to make an informed choice.

Associate Professor Wee Hwee Lin, director of the Centre for Health Interventions and Policy Evaluation Research at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, applauded the ministry for making such information transparent.