To the above question, the answer will be a straight ‘YES’. Many people that i spoke to these days were very much concerned as to whether they should upgrade their basic shield plan commonly known as Medishield. Due to the fact that they have little infor about that plan hence it is hard for them to make a wise decision as to whether to upgrade their plan.

Let me just go through the basic facts on Medishield:

1) MediShield is an individual catastrophic medical insurance designed to help Singaporeans pay part of  the large hospitalisation bills (80% only) for treatment of serious illnesses or prolonged hospitalisations at Class B2/C wards in restructured hospitals.

2) MediShield covers hospitalisation expenses and certain approved outpatient treatments, such as kidney dialysis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer treatment.

3) For Singaporeans who plan to use Class B1 or higher ward classes, you may wish to consider purchasing Medisave-approved private Integrated Shield Plans 

4) Expenses for treatments sought overseas cannot be claimed from MediShield but you can do so for private Intergrated Shield Plans.

5) MediShield claim for hospital stays in higher class wards or private hospital will be calculated based on a percentage(35%) of your hospital bill. Similarly, if you go for unsubsidised day surgery, your MediShield claim will be calculated based on a percentage(35%) of your bill

6) MediShield has Deductible and Co-insurance features which are payable with your Medisave or cash first, before the rest of the claim is payable from MediShield.

For all the above facts, the more you should privatise your basic shield plan because all private insurers provide ‘As-Charged’ basis for all the hospital bills. This will come out particularly very useful especially if you happen to be admitted for a long stay. The earlier you upgrade the plan, the less hassle you will face due to your health conditions. You do not want to face the situation whereby you will be subject to many exclusions.

If you have spare money, i will also advise you to go for the cash riders that can cover both the co-insurance and deductible expenses. So far, only NTUC and Aviva does not provides full coverage despite paying for the riders. The rest of the company (Pru, AIA & GE) does provide 100% coverage from the first dollar. I will STRONGLY encourage you to do so if you haven’t gotten one.

Faster inform your parents and act NOW! Don’t wait till things to happen and you regret!

Related posts:

  1. 100,000 women are not covered by Medi-Shield!
  2. Buying insurance is simple but not easy.
  3. Why Should I Buy Insurance?
  4. Hierarchy Of Insurance Needs!
  5. Importance Of Health Insurance