Insurance premiums under scrutiny as healthcare costs continue to rise unabated

SINGAPORE (Feb 16): In 2014, Patrick Tan underwent several surgical procedures as a result of two accidents suffered while playing football. Eighteen months later, his medical bill was an astronomical $400,000. At the time, he and his wife, Audrey, were expecting their first child. Moreover, the young couple was saddled with housing and car loans. It was then that Tan felt thankful for his wife’s dogged persistence. Just months before the first accident, at her repeated insistence, he had purchased a private insurance policy. The insurance company has since paid the entire bill.

Tan’s story is not uncommon. Given the rising cost of healthcare, Singaporeans are spending more money on insurance cover. According to statistics from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, gross premiums for health insurance have nearly doubled from $214.7 million in 2011 to $410.2 million in 2015. In comparison, gross premiums for the entire general insurance industry increased just 16.8% over the same period.

So, when a report by the Health Insurance Task Force (HITF) was issued last October advocating changes that would force patients to bear some of their healthcare costs, there was considerable pushback. One financial services manager with six years’ experience in the industry, who spoke to The Edge Singapore on condition of anonymity, says many patients just do not have the cash to do so.

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