October 28, 2024 | Insurance
Recently, due to an insurance agent’s negligence, I spent a lot of time studying the details of medical insurance. I happened to listen to a CNA podcast, and with the recent news of collective IP premium hikes, I feel this topic is worth discussing: Does generous medical insurance drive up medical costs?
After listening to this podcast, I’d like to share some of my observations and thoughts.
❝ 30% give up rider due to high cost
The podcast mentioned that 30% of people give up riders due to the high premiums. Medical insurance premiums are likely to keep rising. The premiums for private IPs in hospitals for those over sixty are already high, even without riders. In retirement planning, it’s essential to account for these insurance costs and to carefully weigh the ability to afford top-tier medical resources in the long term. I support rules like GE’s where the premium increases after private claims, as it encourages reasonable use of medical resources by individuals.
❝ The nursing service in public hospitals is no different from private
Having stayed as a companion at public and private hospitals seven or eight times, I’ve observed that the dedication of nurses and caregivers in KK’s pediatric Class C wards surpasses that in other private and public A wards.
My husband and I have always had a positive attitude toward the public healthcare system. This mainly stems from our experience when our son was four months old and was hospitalized at KK for Kawasaki disease. The doctors there promptly conducted various tests, quickly diagnosed the condition, and started treatment, controlling the disease. At that time, we were not familiar with Kawasaki disease, but online, I found a key piece of news: a previous case where an infant had died due to a misdiagnosis of Kawasaki disease by a private clinic. This incident led to increased awareness of Kawasaki disease in Singapore’s medical community.
We had a good experience during over a year of follow-up visits at KK Cardiac Center. The nurses were very friendly, and while appointments, consultations, scans, and prescriptions were not incredibly fast, they were well organized. We did encounter issues, such as waiting three hours in the emergency queue due to prioritization or incorrect appointment times. However, similar problems occurred in private hospitals, like missed medications or unfriendly nurses, with no noticeable improvement over the public system.
❝ Everyone plays a part, the doctors play a part, the insurance company plays a part, and consumers play a part! Because what we have abused ultimately impacts us. We need to decide, for a particular illness, if we need to go to a private hospital, or if we’re happy with a public hospital. When we know it is over-prescribed, we need to say no.
When discussing the necessity of private hospital insurance and the advantages of private insurance, Christopher Tan repeatedly emphasizes that it provides us with more options. Often, when an illness is not severe or urgent, the services of public hospitals are sufficient.
We chose Gleneagles Hospital for the cancer treatment, solely because we weren’t able to schedule an appointment with a senior specialist at a public hospital within a month, while a top private nephrology expert in Singapore could see us the next day, with surgery just days later. I also know an auntie who holds a public hospital insurance, after being diagnosed with breast cancer, opted for urgent surgery at a private hospital, and then continued chemotherapy at a public hospital. She said that subsequent treatment in the public hospital was no different from private care but more affordable. I learned that the National Cancer Centre has recently expanded and renovated, making the overall environment even better than private clinics. We didn’t switch to a public hospital because I believe the trust built with the current doctor is important for cancer patients’ mental well-being, even though my mother has expressed that she would accept a doctor change if costs become an issue.
Using public resources responsibly is every citizen’s duty because the cost will eventually be borne by consumers in the form of premium increases.
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