No this is not an April Fool’s joke. As of yesterday (1 April 2021), all Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) with full riders that cover your whole hospital bill will be phased out. This means that from here on out, all IP riders will become co-payment riders that require policyholders to pay at least five per cent of the hospital bill. Also, this will affect policyholders who renew their existing IPs with full-riders from 1 April 2021 onwards. But, the good news is that most insurers have capped the co-payment amount to $3,000 a year (subject to conditions and approval) even though this was not required from the Ministry of Health (MOH). Hopefully, this will keep things affordable. Not to mention MOH has stated that ‘Policyholders can also continue to tap on MediSave to pay the co-payment amount under their riders, subject to the MediSave withdrawal limits.’ Source: NowThis |...