Allowing all Integrated Shield Plan (IP) policyholders to switch insurers freely is not the right solution for the issues they face, as it may lead to higher premiums and higher healthcare costs, said Minister of State for Health Rahayu Mahzam.
"MOH does not believe that mandating full portability for IPs is the right solution for the issues faced by policyholders," she said in Parliament on Nov 12. Giving an update on a study by the Ministry of Health to assess the feasibility of IP portability, she said that, most of all, it is not an international best practice for supplementary and commercial personal health insurance to be fully portable.
The usual practice is for insurers to underwrite new policies in order to price the risks of accepting more policyholders with pre-existing conditions into their risk pool. Underwriting can result in the insurer imposing additional conditions on the policyholder's coverage, such as a waiting period during which no claims will be paid or exclusions to the coverage.
Policyholders may also have to pay higher premiums in view of the higher risks, said Ms Rahayu.
"At the national level, this will all contribute to higher costs, and this is where the ministry's concerns lie. We are constantly worried that these private policies are not sustainable. And that's the key thing that we need to look at, because the change in terms is really a sign of this happening," she said in response to a question on IP portability from Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong GRC).
Ms Rahayu said the IP insurers need to take a step back and renew the fundamental designs of their schemes.
Esta historia es de la edición November 13, 2024 de The Straits Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 13, 2024 de The Straits Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Japan mayor regrets South Korea's absence from war memorial event
A Japanese mayor said it is \"extremely regrettable\" that South Korea pulled out of a memorial ceremony on Nov 24 to honour wartime forced labour victims, local media reported.
China's local govts step up public safety measures after attacks
The local authorities in China are stepping up safety management and police patrols following several high-profile mass killings, as the central government calls for enhanced public security, media reports said on Nov 24.
Evacuation orders set off new wave of displacement in Gaza City
Israeli military's move blamed on militants firing rockets from heavily built-up suburb
S. Korea seeks better work-life balance to ease falling birth rate
Tax incentives and subsidies for SMEs and doubling of paternal leave among measures
Manila to investigate V-P's alleged assassination threat against Marcos
The Philippines' security council will verify an alleged assassination threat by Vice-President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a top official said on Nov 24, describing it as a \"matter of national security\".
Three days of sectarian clashes leave 82 dead in Pakistan
Three days of bitter sectarian gunfights in north-western Pakistan have killed at least 82 people and wounded 156 more, a local official said on Nov 24.
Johor aims to ride medical tourism wave
It hopes to capitalise on location, build up facilities to compete with Melaka, Penang
Fire rips through Manila slum area housing thousands
Raging orange flames and thick black smoke billowed into the sky on Nov 24 as a huge fire ripped through hundreds of houses in a closely built slum area of the Philippine capital Manila.
More Indian states and firms offer menstrual leave
Issue gains traction amid efforts to woo female voters and get more women to join workforce
SM Lee in China to mark 30 years of Suzhou Industrial Park
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong is visiting China from Nov 24 to 29 and he will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), a project he helped to steer at its beginning.
