CPFB | Healthcare financing

Healthcare financing

As of Dec 2022

B2/C wards are subsidised and provide affordable and effective care

About 7 in 10 hospitalisations are in such wards

2020-2022 hospitalisation in subsidised wards

Proportion of hospitalisation in subsidised wards

Note: Data includes hospitalisations with MediShield Life and Integrated Shield Plan claims.

MediShield Life (MSHL) is sized to cover majority of subsidised treatments in public hospitals (B2/C wards).

MediShield Life paid out $1.3 billion in 2022

Number and amount of MediShield Life claims

7 in 10 Singaporeans in subsidised wards do not pay any cash out-of-pocket expenses

Proportion of Singaporeans with zero, less than $100 or less than $500 out-of-pocket expenses in subsidised wards

Premiums for private hospital Integrated Shield Plans can cost 2.5 times more than MediShield Life, over one's lifetime

Amount of premiums paid over one’s lifetime

Note: For illustrative purposes only, and not meant to be a projection of future premiums. Lifetime premiums refer to a simple summation of median premium levels (as of 1 Sep 2022) across plans for each age from ages 0 to 85.

Integrated Shield Plans (IP) are optional, private insurance products that provide additional coverage on top of MSHL, to cover treatments provided in unsubsidised settings, such as B1 wards, A wards or private hospitals.

IP premiums rise substantially with age especially for private hospital IP

MediSave used for additional premium can instead be used for other healthcare expenses

Median annual premiums for private hospital IP across insurers

Median annual premiums for private hospital IP by age

When hospitalised, most IP policyholders stay in subsidised wards

IP policyholders' ward utilisation, from 2020-2022

Proportion of IP policy holders staying at Class B2/C, B1/B2+, A or private hospital

Note

Members may have purchased IPs because they want to preserve the flexibility of seeking private care.
Class B IP policyholders refers to Standard and Class B1 IP policyholders

While IPs cost more, they may not give higher payouts for hospitalisation in B2/C wards

Using Mr Tan as an example who purchased an IP for A ward but was admitted to B2 ward in public hospital for heart bypass

In this case, although Mr Tan has a IP for A Ward, there is no additional payout/benefits compared to MSHL when Mr Tan chose B2 Ward

The breakdown of hospital bill, with amount paid by MSHL and IP insurer

Note: For illustrative purposes only. Actual IP payout is dependent on the specific plan and circumstances of each hospital admission and may differ from case to case.

Before you purchase an IP, it is essential to consider the coverage that you need and its long-term affordability.

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