Deductible under Shield plans

QUESTION:

I am currently a IncomeShield Plan B policyholder and will like to seek some clarifications on how claims are processed under IncomeShield.

An agent shared with me the attached article. It is taken from Business Times. It was doing a comparison on the payouts from the different Insurers. I was very surprised that most of the insurers, including Income does not pay a cent in the example where a policyholder stays at Mt Elizabeth for 2 nights.

Could Income explain how the claims are processed? For example, what items will be considered for the deductible. Lastly, if the policyholder had bought the IncomeShield rider, how does it helps in this example?

ANSWER:

All the Shield plans are required to have a deductible, representing approximately 5 days of hospital stay. The principle is that the patient should pay for the first 5 days, and the insurance will pay for 90% of the bill in excess of the deductible.

This condition is imposed by the Ministry of Health.

We offer a rider that charges a separate premium (to be paid by cash) that will cover the deductible and the balance of 10%. Many people have opted to buy this rider.

Tan Kin Lian
CEO, NTUC Income