Question regarding health insurance

[godspeed1208]

Hi there i'm considering to apply/upgrade for a different health insurance that would cover me in private hospitals for treatments and hospitalization in the future etc but i have 1 doubt that i would like to know.. do i need to place any upfront deposit/payments at admission and/or will i also need to settle the total bills first from my own pocket even if my insurance has riders which would cover deductibles and co-insurance? Please share any experience so that i and others can understand more regarding this...

If that's the case i think taking a lower health insurance would be a better choice for me right as i'll be able to be subsidized in a b2 government hospital? Also since my main source of income is via online bussiness and sale i do not have cpf contribution and medisave which is why i wanted to get a good health insurance plan in the first place.. any advice and help would be much appreciated.

p.s: my current health insurance is from AIA healthshield gold max b, which is going to expiry end of this month.

 

[bigmice]

if estimate bill size not too big, deposit below 10k normally no need pay anything. your will automatic get letter of guarantee at admission .
I not suggest down grade to B level, that will reduce benefit too much, at least should cover under government hospital A ward level.

 

[godspeed1208]

if estimate bill size not too big, deposit below 10k normally no need pay anything. your will automatic get letter of guarantee at admission .
I not suggest down grade to B level, that will reduce benefit too much, at least should cover under government hospital A ward level.

HI there, so if my bill is going to be over 10k than i'll need to deposit down-payment upfront and than the insurance company will reimburse me back the bill? If i had the money to put deposit i won't need to worry about getting a health insurance.

Is it the same for government hospitals for class A and b1? Will i need to place deposit for admission too if the estimated bill amount is going to be over 10k even if i'm covered 100%?

My mum had quite a few operations previously and the bills where above 10k and some up to 35k but she did not had to put any deposit as her ward class was b2 under subsidized. And now i'm thinking i'll rather just have medishield would do since anything above class b2 we need to place a deposit? Please advise thanks

 

[Lewis.T]

HI there, so if my bill is going to be over 10k than i'll need to deposit down-payment upfront and than the insurance company will reimburse me back the bill? If i had the money to put deposit i won't need to worry about getting a health insurance.

Is it the same for government hospitals for class A and b1? Will i need to place deposit for admission too if the estimated bill amount is going to be over 10k even if i'm covered 100%?

My mum had quite a few operations previously and the bills where above 10k and some up to 35k but she did not had to put any deposit as her ward class was b2 under subsidized. And now i'm thinking i'll rather just have medishield would do since anything above class b2 we need to place a deposit? Please advise thanks

The hospital will decide if the deposit needs to be done. Nobody else really has a say in this.

You could always stick to just your medishield and choose a b2 ward, but being subsidized does not mean you need NOT fork out anything out of your own pocket.

If you want to save on premiums then be prepared to pay medisave/cash, for example, paying 2k deductibles per ward stay and a % of co-insurance before you can even claim. Also, freak bills also do happen even in subsidized wards.

I would say if you're worried about the deposit then go for a subsidized ward, but at least upgrade your medishield with any one of the companies that do this to cover for expenses in a government restructured hospital.

 

[godspeed1208]

The hospital will decide if the deposit needs to be done. Nobody else really has a say in this.

You could always stick to just your medishield and choose a b2 ward, but being subsidized does not mean you need NOT fork out anything out of your own pocket.

If you want to save on premiums then be prepared to pay medisave/cash, for example, paying 2k deductibles per ward stay and a % of co-insurance before you can even claim. Also, freak bills also do happen even in subsidized wards.

I would say if you're worried about the deposit then go for a subsidized ward, but at least upgrade your medishield with any one of the companies that do this to cover for expenses in a government restructured hospital.

hi thanks for the advice.. true that freak bills will occur. One of my mum's bills came up to 35k but she had medisave to cover for her. For my case, i do not have cpf contribution and medisave so this worries me now. I thought the health plans would cover the bills for me but looks like i need to fork out the cash first.

 

[godspeed1208]

so far what i heard from agents and by calling the insurance company personally.. i will need to place a deposit which will be told to me by the hospital(MEH) on the estimated total bill and i will need to pay up the total bill at time of discharge and only than submit the claim form to my insurer. Like that means i'll need to fork out the money first. what if bills comes to around 50k?

i don't see the point to take up a health insurance. so far i talked to a sales agent at ntuc and AIA both told me this same things. Planning on getting a insurance plan from prudential at the moment.

 

[jonheng87]

so far what i heard from agents and by calling the insurance company personally.. i will need to place a deposit which will be told to me by the hospital(MEH) on the estimated total bill and i will need to pay up the total bill at time of discharge and only than submit the claim form to my insurer. Like that means i'll need to fork out the money first. what if bills comes to around 50k?

i don't see the point to take up a health insurance. so far i talked to a sales agent at ntuc and AIA both told me this same things. Planning on getting a insurance plan from prudential at the moment.

Since you currently have GE hospital plan, my suggestion is to continue to stay with it then. Because seriously you can't predict what will happen in future. If you decided not to renew your current hosp plan, and if any CI were to strike, wouldn't it be a burden? As in imagine you got to borrow money from others friends or family. And if you would after like to then get the hosp plan due to realizing the importance of it ... It would be too late as your CI would be part of the exclusion.

So what I mean is, having some basic pte hosp plan at least gives you and your family a peace of mind. I hope it helps Godspeed

Jonathan heng

 

[godspeed1208]

Since you currently have GE hospital plan, my suggestion is to continue to stay with it then. Because seriously you can't predict what will happen in future. If you decided not to renew your current hosp plan, and if any CI were to strike, wouldn't it be a burden? As in imagine you got to borrow money from others friends or family. And if you would after like to then get the hosp plan due to realizing the importance of it ... It would be too late as your CI would be part of the exclusion.

So what I mean is, having some basic pte hosp plan at least gives you and your family a peace of mind. I hope it helps Godspeed

Jonathan heng

Hi yes i get what you mean. i'm was just worried about the claim procedure. If i need to pay the bills first and than claim from my insurer than that's going to be a problem unless the hospital claims directly from my insurer. For class b2, i know that they will send you the bills in 2 or 3 weeks time but for higher class wards like b1/A or private hospitals i think it would be a different case? So if i were to get a plan with a rider to cover me 100% i dont see than why i will need to bring out any money at all, let it be deposit or total bills.. shouldn't the insurance company handle that?

 

[FP_IFA]

Hi yes i get what you mean. i'm was just worried about the claim procedure. If i need to pay the bills first and than claim from my insurer than that's going to be a problem unless the hospital claims directly from my insurer. For class b2, i know that they will send you the bills in 2 or 3 weeks time but for higher class wards like b1/A or private hospitals i think it would be a different case? So if i were to get a plan with a rider to cover me 100% i dont see than why i will need to bring out any money at all, let it be deposit or total bills.. shouldn't the insurance company handle that?

Hi,

I have replied your pm. Sorry wasn't active here.

In short, just remember Shield plans work in a reimbursement basis. That's why there is still a need of a medisave account. If you are worry about the upfront cost, get a letter of guaranteed (LOG) before the admission. Check with your current insurer which hospital accept LOG from your insurer and how long does it takes to process it. Cheers!

 

[aural]

Hi,

I have replied your pm. Sorry wasn't active here.

In short, just remember Shield plans work in a reimbursement basis. That's why there is still a need of a medisave account. If you are worry about the upfront cost, get a letter of guaranteed (LOG) before the admission. Check with your current insurer which hospital accept LOG from your insurer and how long does it takes to process it. Cheers!

Do note that LOG doesn't guarantee payment but just waiver of deposit.

 

[candyxxx]

FYI, Great Eastern LOG will only be approved if you have had the policy for more than 1 year. I am still required to pay deposit for A ward even though the estimated bill size is only $3k+. When I asked my agent he said because my policy is less than 1 year. Why sign that time never tell us?

 

[aural]

FYI, Great Eastern LOG will only be approved if you have had the policy for more than 1 year. I am still required to pay deposit for A ward even though the estimated bill size is only $3k+. When I asked my agent he said because my policy is less than 1 year. Why sign that time never tell us?

Sadly many advisers may not know what does the LOG stands for and how it works.

Also depending on your plans if there are any exclusions, LOG may or may not be granted too. LOG grant defers from insurer to insurer and also hospitals to hospitals.