To address rising insurance premiums and private healthcare costs, the Ministry of Health (“MOH“) announced on 26 November 2025 the introduction of new design requirements for Integrated Shield Plan (“IP“) riders.
At present, policyholders can limit their co-payment for medical bills by buying a rider together with their main IP, mainly for private healthcare. Such riders may cover the minimum IP deductibles set by MOH, providing very comprehensive coverage that protects up to almost the last dollar. However, this leads to a tendency for over-servicing by healthcare providers and over-consumption of healthcare services by patients, driving up insurance premiums.
MOH will therefore implement the below requirements to arrest the escalation of costs for private healthcare.
Key Requirements
- From 1 April 2026, insurers are not permitted to sell new IP riders to cover the minimum IP deductibles. MOH sets the minimum IP deductible that each IP is required to have. This ranges from S$1,500 to S$3,500 per policy year, and varies by ward class. This change refocuses on the original objective of health insurance – to protect patients against larger healthcare bills – and reduces over-servicing and over-consumption associated with non-essential healthcare.
- Increase in the minimum co-payment cap from S$3,000 per year to S$6,000 per year to keep pace with increasing bill sizes. The cap excludes the minimum IP deductible. Both the deductible and co-payments can be paid using MediSave, subject to prevailing withdrawal limits. There is no change to the minimum 5% co-payment requirement.
- Lower premiums: On average, the premiums of new IP riders are expected to be about 30% lower than existing riders with maximum coverage. Private hospital IP rider policyholders may expect annual premiums savings of around S$600, while public hospital rider policyholders may expect around annual premiums savings of around S$200. Older policyholders will enjoy greater premium savings.
Implementation Timeline
From 1 April 2026, insurers are required to launch new compliant IP riders, as well as cease the sale of non-compliant riders).
In the meantime, insurers can continue selling existing riders until 31 March 2026. However, they must inform new policyholders who purchase such riders on or after 27 November 2025 that they will transition to compliant riders no later than their next policy renewal after 1 April 2028.
The new requirements for riders are part of a suite of measures by MOH to address rising private healthcare costs, including setting fee benchmarks to guide charging practices.
Click on the following link for more information:
- MOH Press Release titled “New Requirements For Integrated Shield Plan Riders To Strengthen Sustainability Of Private Health Insurance And Address Rising Healthcare Costs” (available on the MOH website at moh.gov.sg)
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