How to break the health insurance 'vicious circle'

Private insurance claims and premiums keep rising. To stop this trend, reinstate deductibles and expand the MediShield Life coverage to Bl wards.

- Chua Mui Hoong

When everyone is pedalling harder and harder to keep going, but no one is happy, you have to pause to ask yourself: Just what is wrong and what can break the cycle? In essence, this was the message of Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, when he said health insurance was in a "vicious circle".

Insurers are coming up with "overly generous" policies that pay the full hospital bill.

Patients pay high premiums for this coverage. Some doctors order unnecessary tests and treatments that result in bigger bills and higher claims, fuelling a spiral of rising premiums that raises healthcare costs across the board.

His diagnosis: "The Government is not happy, insurers are not making money, the patients and policyholders are facing increasing premiums. And yet, we are still doing this over and over again. It doesn't do good to anyone.

"We are chasing after our own tail, and everyone is just getting worse off eventually," he said bluntly.

WHAT IS BEING DONE

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is going about it methodically.

Today, Singaporeans are covered by MediShield Life (MSL), with claims limits pegged to the costs of subsidised C and B2 wards in public hospitals. This isn't enough for those who want private care, so two in three Singapore residents have an additional private insurance Integrated Shield Plan (IP) that pays out higher amounts to cover treatment in private wards. Some also add a "rider" that covers the co-payment or cash amounts that patients need to pay.

Given that so many people are buying private insurance cover, it is clear that many people view MSL coverage as not enough. Hence, one of MOH's priorities is to expand MediShield Life coverage and increase its limits.