Should I buy Integrated Shield Plan until 99 years old?

Jes , 10 Comments


Thanks to Ray, he pointed out I should expand my price comparison of different shield plans to age 75 and up. I can't remember why I stopped at 75 years old, but I probably followed AIA's tables, which only covers up to 75 years old.



In any case, it got me thinking if I would keep buying integrated shield plan if I live till 99 years old.

I wrote in another post debating whether people should buy term plan up till 99 years old. In short, you probably don't have to keep paying for insurance and can stop once you retire. For hospitalisation plan or Integrated Shield Plan, the circumstances seem different.

For one, people will have a higher chance of hospitalisation when we are older. How much higher? Luckily for us, MOH has release this figure annually.

Rate Per 1,000 Resident Population in 2016
Above the age of 4, looking at the total which is the last column, the percentage is less than 10% until 50 years old. It increased to 20% at the age of 60, 30% at the age of 70, and more than 50% from 80 years old onwards. Looking at this, I am tempted to only buy integrated shield plan from 50 years old onwards. No wonder it's below $1000 to get riders or full coverage below 50 years old.

Let's try to check out the average hospital bill charges.

The figures below are taken from MOH website and is the 2015 figures for the average hospital bills, unfortunately they have stopped publishing it now. Based on Ward B2, the average bill size is $2,667. With a deductible of $1,500 for staying in Ward B2 and below, and 10% of co-insurance based on $2,667, the bill without an Integrated Shield Plan is $1,500 + 266.7 = $1,766.7. Thus on average, be prepared to pay around $1,766 per hospital visit after deduction of Medishield Life.

Private Hospitals
The average hospital bills out of all these privates hospitals listed below, including both medical and surgical bills, is $13,358. Cancelling out the charges that would have been incurred in Ward B2 at $2667 and with a deductible of $2,000 plus 10% co-insurance based on $2,667 at $266.7 , the bill without an Integrated Shield Plan is $13,358 - 2,667 + 2,000 + 266.7 = $12,957.7. This is the average hospital charges if you intend to stay in private hospitals.


Private hospitals. Left side is medical bills while right side is surgical bills. 
Government Hospitals (Up to Ward A)
The average hospital bills out of all these hospitals listed below, including both medical and surgical bills, is $8,462. Using the same formula as above, $8,462 - 2,667 + 2,000 + 266.7 = $8061.7. This is the average hospital charges if you intend to stay in Ward A.

Government hospitals (Ward A). Left side is medical bills while right side is surgical bills. 

Government Hospitals (Up to Ward B1)
The average hospital bills out of all these hospitals listed below, including both medical and surgical bills, is $7,327. Using the same formula as above, $7,327 - 2.667 + 2,000 + 266.7 = $6926.7. This is the average hospital charges if you intend to stay in Ward B1.

Government hospitals (Ward A). Left side is medical bills while right side is surgical bills. 

For the prices of Integrated Shield Plans from different providers, your premiums will increase as you age. It may seem more expensive to continue but you are more likely to claim these hospital bills. If you take the probability of admittance into a hospital by age multiply by the average hospital bill, the premiums look about right.

AXA (yellow boxes) is the cheapest while NTUC(orange boxes) is the second-most affordable

The most affordable premiums seem to differ with age
NTUC is still able to provide one of the cheapest premiums

I have no clear answer if you should buy Integrated Shield Plan until 99 years old. The main questions would be:
1) Are you able to afford it?
2) Do you have to stay in private hospitals or better wards?

If yes to both, then you should continue to buy Integrated Shield Plans. Please take note that the prices listed in the table are due to change due to the government recent announcement about the compulsory 5% co-payment.

What this means for me

I don't think I will continue to take up my current plan which is the 100% coverage in government hospitals up to Ward A till 99 years old. When I am retired, I may not be able to afford the integrated shield plan but that's ok. I can opt to stay Class B2 and below and with Medishield Life, the annual deductible and co-insurance are actually not too costly. For example, in emergency cases, I might have $100,000 hospital bill. With deductibles at $2,000 + (3% x 100,000) co-insurance = bill is  $5,000 which is not as expensive as the integrated shield plans as I aged.


Don't forget that $100,000 is probably a pretty hefty sum to begin with. However, there might be incidents of repeated hospitalisation and more severe cases so do consider carefully. Probably if I can afford, I will buy integrated shield plan. If not, it's ok too, just go with Ward B2 and below.

Don't waste your hard earned money and put them into the pockets of insurance agents. Think carefully what you are buying.

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Jes

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10 comments:

  1. Aviva Plan 1 Option C figure is not correct (based on latest 2018-03) figure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there,

      You are right, they have adjusted upwards on the pricing, I have amended them. Anyway, the figures are due to change now with the compulsory inclusion of 5% co-payment. Will update on the numbers again! Thanks for letting me know :)

      Delete
  2. Thanks Jes for your good writeup and analysis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mm,

      Appreciate your compliment. It's for my own benefit but glad you find it helpful :)

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Hi 2 roti prata,

      Very true, no money can only afford roti prata! =P

      Delete
  4. Hello Jes,

    Thanks for the detailed post! A lot of effort and research to get these data!

    I was looking through this post and a few questions popped into my mind:
    -I believe AIA covers lifetime but last entry age is 75 (I initially thought they only cover till 75 when I read your post and panicked for a bit as I am covered by AIA and definitely intend to have coverage till I die but upon researching more confirmed that it is lifetime coverage)
    -Maybe a comparison not just on premiums but also on what they cover differently would be useful?

    Just my 2 cents!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Wife Say I Niao,

      Yes AIA covers life time but they don't release the figures from 75 to 100 years old so I was not able to consolidate them into these tables. I believe if you are their client, they do give you the full numbers for your policy. Haha, sorry for making you panicky!

      I have had several requests on the comparison of their coverage but the different options and wide range of differences made it quite complicated to do so. Nevertheless, I am waiting for the new 5% co-payment policies, probably will try to compare if I can! All these price changes updates are making it hard to cope already~

      Appreciate your feedback and thanks for reading! :)

      Delete
  5. Hi Jes,
    Thanks for the post.
    Another main factor to consider by me is not the Ward as I can simply accept B1 or B2 in public hospital.
    The main consideration is the period of Pre and Post Hospitalisation benefits. The longest the better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there,

      Good to know! Maybe I will compare the pre and post hospitalisation benefits in the future but for me, this is not important currently. The most important is still the coverage at the lowest cost. Best is I do not need to claim the insurance at all! :)

      Delete

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