Medishield runs on a deductible and co-payment or co-insurance system. Basically, the medical bill that is payable is divided into these two portions. Deductible is the amount which you will need to pay before Medishield will pay for your medical bill. This typically range $1,000 to $3,000 depending on the class of ward which you stay in and your age and you only pay for the full deductible once every policy year which is defined as the commencement and renewal date of your Medisheid cover.
Subsequently, you will have to pay for a portion of the remaining amount of medical bill after paying the deductible which is known as the co-payment or co-insurance. Typically, this ranges from 10% to 20% of the remaining amount of medical bill after paying off your deductible. The exact amount of the deductible and co-insurance are given in the table below, as taken from the CPF website.
So how does one get covered under the Medishield ? As taken from the CPF website, Medishield is extended automatically to eligible Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents under the following situations.
(i) If their births or permanent residencies were registered after 1 December
2007;
(ii) If they are registered at national schools as at 1 May 2008, 1 May 2009, 1
May 2010, 1 May 2011, 1 May 2012, 1 May 2013 or 1 May 2014;
(iii) When they make their first CPF contribution after turning 16 years old; or
(iv) If they get married in Singapore.
Otherwise, you can apply for Medishield by logging in to your CPF account and submit an application online. This can also be done for your dependents who are below 16 years old. Do bear in mind that you will have to declare any existing and past medical conditions in submitting your application and the Medishield may not cover such conditions thus it is always important to apply when you are still healthy.
What I have done here is to give a summary of what one needs to know regarding Medishield and this is by no means, comprehensive enough. The CPF board has an excellent article regarding Medishield and its related FAQs and the link is available here.
An hospitalization and surgical plan or in short, H&S plan should be the very first insurance plan that you should buy and Medishield is a very basic type of H&S plan. There may be situations where a class B2 or C ward is not going to meet your needs adequately and you may be forced to upgrade to a higher class ward or switch to a private hospital due to reasons such as availability of better medical treatment or shortened waiting time for treatment. As such, Medishield may not much of a help as it is designed to cover a large portion of your medical bills in a class B2 or C ward only. However, there are other options available and this can includes the purchase of a Medishield-approved Integrated Shield plan which I will blog about it in the future.
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