Current state of private insurance, private healthcare unsustainable: Ong Ye Kung

MOH helping to untie the knot insurers, hospitals find themselves in, says minister

- Judith Tan

Private health insurers and private hospitals have got themselves tied up in a knot, to the detriment of all stakeholders including patients, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on July 1.

"I have been expressing my concern about the state of private insurance and private healthcare for some time. The current trend is not sustainable," he said in a Facebook post.

Mr Ong was providing the Health Ministry's perspective in the light of Great Eastern (GE) insurance group's recent suspension on the issuance of pre-authorisation certificates for patient admissions to Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.

"The recent moves by insurers may be disconcerting, but we need to see them against this broader context and the need to set the private healthcare financing system on a more sustainable footing. Otherwise, everyone loses," he said, adding that the Ministry of Health (MOH) will be facilitating the untying of the knot.

GE had said it has temporarily stopped issuing pre-authorisation certificates for the two hospitals from June 17, citing their high costs compared with other private hospitals as the reason.

A pre-authorisation certificate confirms that the insurer has approved the medical treatment, including the costs, before the treatment begins. The certificate may cover the cost of the procedure, medications and other related expenses. Patients who are policyholders have a clear understanding of the costs that will be covered, reducing the risk of unexpected medical bills.