Integrated Shield Plan : 10 things you need to know about this Health Insurance Plan

Do you have an Integrated Shield Plan?

If this is the first time you have heard or Integrated Shield Plan, you would have to read this post. Integrated Sheild Plan is a Health Insurance scheme that you could purchase for added hospitalization expenses coverage.

Before you start, we highly recommend you to check out our previous write up on Health Insurance with the Family. It provides you with an easy understanding of what constitutes Health Insurance in Singapore and how different types of Health Insurance would benefit the policyholders.

Here are 10 things about the Integrated Shield Plan that you might not be aware of.

1 It is managed jointly by the CPF board and Private Insurance

Integrated Shield Plan (IP ) is a Health Insurance plan provided by private insurers. It consists of 2 part health Insurance.

• MediShield Life - This is health insurance run by CPF Board that is included in ALL integrated Shield Plan.
• Additional Private Insurance Coverage run by private insurers to provide for higher coverage that will cover A/B1 wards in public or private hospitals.

It is not an auto inclusive policy like MediShield Life. Instead, you would need to purchase it should you require additional coverage for health insurance. Given Singapore's high medical costs, getting an IP is almost a necessity.

For new IP, they do not provide full coverage as co-payments and deductible are part of the policies.

2 Get an IP you want a more comfortable stay in Hospital

Want to have a single bed? Air-Conditioned Room? TV?

As mentioned earlier, the additional Private Insurance coverage allows you to have cover if you opt for a private hospital or A/B1 wards in public hospitals. Unlike a public hospital, you can also get to choose your own doctor for treatment at a private hospital. The waiting time for treatment or operations is usually shorter at Private Hospital.

Finally, staying in higher graded wards will bring you much more privacy and comfort. When one is ill, getting the best treatment and stay would be of utmost importance.

3 Covers pre and post-hospitalised treatments 

While MediShield Life covers certain outpatient treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer, it does not cover all pre and post-hospitalised treatments. If you want to have peace of mind and no worry about these extra medical expenses, get an IP. 

4 Covers Covid19 related expenses for hospitalisation

IP would also cover hospitalisation expenses attributed to Covid19. This includes Singapore Citizens and PRs who travel out of Singapore to claim for inpatient Covid19 treatment from IP should they experience the onset of Covid19 symptoms within 14 days. It also covers hospitalisation due to Covid19 vaccination if necessary. With the pandemic remaining a threat, this would be a welcoming relief. 

5 Covered for Life

With IP, the MediShield Life component will cover you for life. Even if you choose to stop the Integrated Shield Plan in the future, you can always fall back on MediShield Life.

6 Pre-Existing illness can still apply for IP

While you may not be covered by the private insurance portion for a pre-existing illness, you would still be covered under MediShield Life Component. This means that for other illness other than pre-existing illness, you can still utilize the additional coverage if it is approved by the IP Insurers.

7 Use MediSave to pay for part or up to the full premium within AWL

Medishield Life is fully paid from the Medisave account. For IP, you would have to pay for the private insurance coverage by cash or Medisave. If you are using Medisave to pay for the private insurance portion, if you are within the prevailing Additional Withdrawal limits, you can use it to pay. If you are above the limit, the balance would have to be paid in cash.

You can check the Medisave Limits here.

8 Customise the plans according to your needs and budget

There are different kinds of IP available from insurers that would match your needs and budget.  For example, NTUC income provides 3 different levels of coverage - Standard IncomeShield, IncomeShield and Enhanced IncomeShield. The difference will be the claimable amount and the wards they cover. 

You can use this site to compare the difference in IP insurers.

9 Add riders to lower final cash outlay

Since IP comes with co-payment and deductibles, you might end up footing as much as $15000 for a $100,000 bill. To minimize that, you can add riders to your policy. 

For example, Great Eastern Life provides Great SupremeHeatlh P Plus and Great TotalCare ( Elite P) riders that would reduce the cast outlay to as low as $3000 for a $100,000 hospitalisation charge. Other insurers also provide similar riders with their policies.

10 Total of 7 Private Insurers providing Integrated Shield Plans

Each of the insurers has a different product name for Integrated Shield Plans. They are as follows

Basic Plans  (Class B2/C Plans)

1. MediShield Life

2. Income IncomeShield Plan C*

3. Income Enhanced IncomeShield C*

 

Standard Integrated Shield Plan (For Public Hospital Class B1 Coverage)

1. AIA HealthShield Gold Max Standard Plan

2. Aviva MyShield Standard Plan

3. AXA Shield Standard Plan

4. Great Eastern Supreme Health Standard Plan

5. Income IncomeShield Standard Plan

6. Prudential PruShield Standard Plan

7. Raffles Shield Standard

 

Class B1 Plans

1. AIA HealthShield Gold Max C*

2. AIA HealthShield Gold Max B Lite

3. Aviva MyShield Plan 3

4. Great Eastern Supreme Health B*

5. Great Eastern Supreme Health B Plus

6. Income Enhanced IncomeShield Basic

7. Prudential PruShield B*

8. Raffles Shield B

 

Class A Plans

1. AIA HealthShield Gold Max B

2. Aviva MyShield Plan 2

3. AXA Shield Plan B

4. Great Eastern Supreme Health A*

5. Great Eastern Supreme Health A Plus

6. Income Enhanced IncomeShield Advantage

7. Income IncomeShield Plan A*

8. Prudential PruShield Plus

9. Prudential PruShield A*

10.  Raffles Shield A

 

Private Hospital IPS

1. AIA HealthShield Gold Max A

2. Aviva MyShield Plan 1

3. AXA Shield Plan A

4. Great Eastern Supreme Health P Plus

5. Income Enhanced IncomeShield Preferred

6. Income IncomeShield Plan P*

7. Prudential PruShield Premier

8. Raffles Shield Private

 

Source: MOH

It may be daunting to check each one individually. Alternatively, a financial aggregator site like MoneySmart, where they show the general product features of each Insurers on one page, would be useful.

Getting good coverage for Health Insurance is important in Singapore. With the rising costs of Healthcare, it will be a good buffer to hedge against future needs. Without insurance, one episode of illness could easily wipe out the entire savings.

Furthermore, it may be wiser to get it as early as possible, especially for those without pre-existing illness. The earlier you get; the premium will be lower as it will be based on your current medical condition. For families, the last thing one should worry about would be medical expenses, so it is time to explore this option if you have not done so.