What you didn't know about your company's health coverage

Dec 24, 2006 Straits Times

What you didn't know about your company's health coverage

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It is important to note gaps in your corporate plan and ensure your personal policies cover those needs

By Lorna Tan, Finance Correspondent

MOST Singaporeans have their medical insurance paid for by their employers.

However, many of them are unsure precisely what their coverage includes.

They may have a general idea of the type of ward to which they will be allocated if they get hospitalised, but most are clueless about the finer details of their medical plans.

Take the example of Mr Harry Wee, who was hospitalised for a brain tumour in May and again the following month when complications arose.

Only then did he realise that if both hospital stays stem from the same or a similar illness, his company's hospitalisation and surgical (H&S) plan requires a 90-day waiting period between each admission for claims against the disability benefit entitlement.

In Mr Wee's case, part of the expenses from the second admission were lumped with those from the first against the 'disability' benefit entitlement - $2,000 in this case.

However, both bills came to $11,000, so he could claim only $2,000 for that entitlement.

He would have been able to claim the full $4,000 of that entitlement for the two hospital visits if his second admission had been for a different illness or if the admission for the same illness had occurred after 90 days.

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Beware of Group Hospital and Surgical Plans!

Corporate or Group Hospital and Surgical insurance are a benefit to the employees, in most cases these plans are inadequate for any major or catastrophic illness that strike suddenly. Group H & S plans are usually lower in cost and benefits, so that cost to the employer is minimal.

As such if an employee is down with any major illness, it could wipe out the group H & S limits for that employee. Leaving that employee exposed with without a personal medical insurance plan to back up, and a hefty bill to pay.

Most often, people don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan! Don’t just bang on your company’s medical benefits alone! When the crunch comes, will you be caught exposed, large bills to pay and un-insurable?

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