Before investing, I firmly believe that one should have some protection in the form of insurance. No point in spending years accumulating $500,000 or $1 million only to blow it all due to an unforeseen medical catastrophe.
At the very least, you must have health insurance in the form of a private integrated shield plan for the enhanced (hospital and surgical) coverage. You would be surprised to know that many people only have MediShield!
MediShield
MediShield is a low cost basic medical insurance scheme. Introduced in 1990, the government designed MediShield to help members meet large Class B2/C hospitalisation bills, which could not be sufficiently covered by their Medisave balances. To avoid problems associated with first-dollar, comprehensive insurance leading to unnecessary over-consumption of healthcare services, MediShield operates with co-payment features such as co-insurance and deductible where patients share part of the responsibility for his medical expenses.
The co-insurance and deductible can be paid using Medisave or cash.
Deductible
A deductible is the initial amount you need to pay for claim(s) made in a policy year, before there is MediShield payout.
Co-insurance
Co-insurance is the percentage of the bill you need to pay on the portion of the bill above the deductible.
My Coverage
Shield Plan : Aviva MyShield Plan 2 (improved coverage)
Optional Rider : Aviva MyShield Plus Option A (cover co-insurance)
Optional Rider : Aviva MyShield Plus Option B (cover deductible)
Monthly Premium (for cash-only Riders) : SGD$18.51
Reading Materials
http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/revisiting-co-payments
http://www.todayonline.com/voices/co-payments-matter-balance
http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/home/costs_and_financing/schemes_subsidies/Medishield.html
After securing your first line of defense against hospital and surgical bills, then it is time to find out more about term insurance and critical illness protection. Perhaps, another post for another time.
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