From integrated shield plan back to default Medishield Life.

[bombshell]

I do not see a need to stay in private hospitals, wanna reduce insurance spending.
But haven't really look at the different coverage in details.

Pte hosp main benefit is not the staying part, is the fast access to pte specialist when you most need it.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Govt B1 class also ok as it has aircon and 5-6 bedder.

B1 ward has 4 beds per air conditioned room, actually. The other beds may or may not be occupied during your stay.

A public hospital B1 ward Integrated Shield plan does not prohibit you from staying in A ward. You‘ll just need to pay a “top up” in cash and/or MediSave, that’s all. And you can still see any specialist you want (who is available for an appointment), but the same financial caveat might apply. (Or might not. Public hospital specialists are usually fully covered whether or not you have a referral. It depends on the plan.)

Ya I think BBCW will advocate for B1.

I merely advocate buying all necessities first before spending any money on luxuries. I think it’s reasonable to characterize a public hospital B1 ward Integrated Shield plan as an insurance necessity in Singapore, assuming it’s obtainable (can be underwritten). (The government might disagree with me on this point when it comes to Singaporean citizens.) I have no objection if people subsequently want to buy affordable non-necessities. I do practically every day.

 

[reddevil0728]

B1 ward has 4 beds per room, actually. The other beds may or may not be occupied during your stay.

A public hospital B1 ward Integrated Shield plan does not prohibit you from staying in A ward. You‘ll just need to pay a “top up” in cash and/or MediSave, that’s all.

I merely advocate buying all necessities first before spending any money on luxuries. I think it’s reasonable to characterize a public hospital B1 ward Integrated Shield plan as an insurance necessity in Singapore, assuming it’s obtainable (can be underwritten). (The government might disagree with me on this point when it comes to Singaporean citizens.) I have no objection if people want to buy non-necessities. I do practically every day.

when you factor in the non tangible benefits of comfort. it might not be luxury after all. so it depends on perspectives

 

[reddevil0728]

Pte hosp main benefit is not the staying part, is the fast access to pte specialist when you most need it.

if not warded then the ISP also cannot claim. you don't need a private ISP to see pte specialist.

 

[bombshell]

if not warded then the ISP also cannot claim. you don't need a private ISP to see pte specialist.

They can easily ward you for "observation" to enable you to claim.

 

[reddevil0728]

They can easily ward you for "observation" to enable you to claim.

then that's a different story.

in any case you can also do so with A class ISP. just pay the diff

the qns for one is

would 1 prefer paying premium for private and if just so happen to be healthy, not get to utilise it at all

OR

would i prefer paying premium for A class, and if really desperate then go private and pay the diff in cost.

the premium diff for the former, and the cost of the top up. is the determining factor. but of course about your own general health.

hence it depends on circumstances

 

[bombshell]

then that's a different story.

in any case you can also do so with A class ISP. just pay the diff

the qns for one is

would 1 prefer paying premium for private and if just so happen to be healthy, not get to utilise it at all

OR

would i prefer paying premium for A class, and if really desperate then go private and pay the diff in cost.

the premium diff for the former, and the cost of the top up. is the determining factor. but of course about your own general health.

hence it depends on circumstances

How do they calculate the diff between Class A public hosp and pte hosp for u to pay the diff?

 

[BBCWatcher]

when you factor in the non tangible benefits of comfort. it might not be luxury after all. so it depends on perspectives

I just don’t think a single bedded hospital room is a medical necessity. If it were then Singapore is a backward, undeveloped country that is not adequately providing the necessities of life to the vast majority of its residents. Which is just not true.

Hospitals will still isolate you in every ward class if there’s some medical reason to do so, notably an infectious disease transmission risk.

 

[BBCWatcher]

How do they calculate the diff between Class A public hosp and pte hosp for u to pay the diff?

The insurance carriers have that pricing data.

 

[bombshell]

The insurance carriers have that pricing data.

Even covers the post hosp treatments with pte specialist using Class A + top up?

 

[BBCWatcher]

Even covers the post hosp treatments?

Sure. They’re processing claims all the time, mostly electronically. They know exactly what the public restructured providers charge. The MOH even publishes a lot of this information for the public at large to review. (The carriers have more.)

 

[Thoreldan]

Pte hosp main benefit is not the staying part, is the fast access to pte specialist when you most need it.

My father with 2 cancers were attended to & treated in a timely manner in public healthcare institutions even as a subsidized patient. So yeah still have faith in a public hospital.

 

[reddevil0728]

My father with 2 cancers were attended to & treated in a timely manner in public healthcare institutions even as a subsidized patient. So yeah still have faith in a public hospital.

actually there is a misperception about public hospital.

if you are subsidise, they go by triage.

but you can be a private patient in a public hospital, you are like going to private specialist

 

[bombshell]

My father with 2 cancers were attended to & treated in a timely manner in a public healthcare institution as a subsidized patient. So yeah still have faith in a public hospital.

Ya not saying public is bad, but the main benefit of pte insurance to me is not the accomodations but the access to pte doctors. I don't mind even sleeping in class C ward if i can see the best specialist, don't have to wait too long for appts and still get it claimed. Most good docs i know are in pte.

 

[reddevil0728]

I just don’t think a single bedded hospital room is a medical necessity. If it were then Singapore is a backward, undeveloped country that is not adequately providing the necessities of life to the vast majority of its residents. Which is just not true.

Hospitals will still isolate you in every ward class if there’s some medical reason to do so, notably an infectious disease transmission risk.

again, it's perspective. i.e., Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder'...

some people want to deny the existence of mental health or climate change

but that doesn't mean others will.

so what's medical necessity or not, it's subjective when it comes to the psychological part

 

[reddevil0728]

Ya not saying public is bad, but the main benefit of pte insurance to me is not the accomodations but the access to pte doctors. I don't mind even sleeping in class C ward if i can see the best specialist, don't have to wait too long for appts and still get it claimed.

You are assuming private doctors = "best specialist" which they may not be.

private doctors are just doctors who are willing and daring enough to do business.

They may not be the best.

a lot of brilliant doctors remain in public hospital because they don't want to be bothered with running a business, they just want to practise medicine.

--

also like mentioned above, you don't need Pte insurance to see private doctors.

Private insurance is of course more value for money if you are the super sick kind that constantly need to see doctor, hence the ever increasing and exponential premium for pte care is worth paying.

However, if you are generally healthy, but still need to see doctor every now and then, why not pay a less exponential increase insurance. A class is actually pretty decent (will address your 3rd pt later), but if you desire pte care, you can still go for it, and just top up the difference.

the premium you paid for private insurance might be more than the cost of A class insurance + top up.

--

you might have the perception that all public specialist appt waiting are long

that is definitely the case for subsidise care.

but as mentioned, you can be a private patient in public hospital and you are like going to private doctor.

i will say waiting time is comparable.

 

[bombshell]

You are assuming private doctors = "best specialist" which they may not be.

private doctors are just doctors who are willing and daring enough to do business.

They may not be the best.

a lot of brilliant doctors remain in public hospital because they don't want to be bothered with running a business, they just want to practise medicine.

--

also like mentioned above, you don't need Pte insurance to see private doctors.

Private insurance is of course more value for money if you are the super sick kind that constantly need to see doctor, hence the ever increasing and exponential premium for pte care is worth paying.

However, if you are generally healthy, but still need to see doctor every now and then, why not pay a less exponential increase insurance. A class is actually pretty decent (will address your 3rd pt later), but if you desire pte care, you can still go for it, and just top up the difference.

the premium you paid for private insurance might be more than the cost of A class insurance + top up.

--

you might have the perception that all public specialist appt waiting are long

that is definitely the case for subsidise care.

but as mentioned, you can be a private patient in public hospital and you are like going to private doctor.

i will say waiting time is comparable.

Again i have never said public is bad. I just say the main benefits of pte insurance is the claimable access to pte drs and shld not be abt the accomodations. I can even say the newer public hospitals have better class A accoms than some pte hospitals.

Ts is looking at it just from the accoms angle, he is willing to forgo the ISP and just do with Medishield becos he is ok with staying at lower class wards. But he shld aslo consider the limited access to drs with just Medisheild alone. If he has considered that and is ok, then by all means go ahead.

 

[reddevil0728]

Again i have never said public is bad. I just say the main benefits of pte insurance is the claimable access to pte drs and shld not be abt the accomodations. I can even say the newer public hospitals have better class A accoms than some pte hospitals.

i didn't say you said public is bad. but i am saying you seem to imply best doctors are in pte which is not entirely accurate.

Ts is looking at it just from the accoms angle, he is willing to forgo the ISP and just do with Medishield becos he is ok with staying at lower class wards. But he shld aslo consider the limited access to drs with just Medisheild alone. If he has considered that and is ok, then by all means go ahead.

non pte insurance also also go pte. that's my point.

needs to see total premium paid for pte vs total premium paid for a class + top up for access to pte.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Ya not saying public is bad, but the main benefit of pte insurance to me is not the accomodations but the access to pte doctors. I don't mind even sleeping in class C ward if i can see the best specialist, don't have to wait too long for appts and still get it claimed. Most good docs i know are in pte.

OK, but anyone is allowed to pay the "top up" (often not much, sometimes MediSave payable) to see private sector medical specialists (anywhere in the world), subject to their general schedule availability. That's "a la carte" after paying the admission fee (lower cost plan coverage), basically. It's a perfectly viable approach for many people. The other choice is "buffet," and that'll require paying well above the average annualized incremental cost of obtaining that care (and other associated care) for your age and gender cohort. ("Well above" because the insurance carrier has to recover its overheads including a profit.)

"Buffet" may work out better if you expect to be a heavy consumer of covered services (at the buffet you eat a lot) and can sustain the significantly higher premium. "A la carte" will tend to work better if you expect to dabble occasionally (or not at all) outside what your lower cost insurance policy covers.

Bear in mind that even "buffet" often requires top ups. Just as in a buffet restaurant the private hospital Integrated Shield plans all have provider panels (finite menus). Get care from outside the panel (order a special off-menu drink) and the coverage is reduced in some way(s). Also, if you obtain care without being a subsidized patient then that's how you'll stay even for follow-up care absent an appeal based on genuine financial need. All Integrated Shield plans stop covering follow-up medical care after a certain period of time ranging from 100 days to 13 months depending on the plan selection.

 

[bombshell]

i didn't say you said public is bad. but i am saying you seem to imply best doctors are in pte which is not entirely accurate.

Of cos its not entirely true, only people without common sense can interpret it at the extremes. Medicine is a skilled profession, good doctors can command a higher salary and majority of them want to do so. There are always exceptions where exceptionally good doctors are in the public setting because they want to serve the greater good. But ppl should not be planning based on the exceptions. You should just plan on the rule of thumb, the more you pay the higher chance you will get better care.

And my statement is just simply pte insurance is not about the luxury of sleeping in pte wards, but it gets you access to the full range of pte doctors without worrying as much about the bills as you would have otherwise with a lower tier insurance. But of cos if you like to interpret it at the extreme ends and imply what I am saying is all lower tier insurance are bad, only pte doctors are good, pte insurance means everything is free and so on, then feel free to do so.