Debated in Parliament on 4 Mar 2026.
Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) what steps will the Ministry take to enhance public education on right-sizing Integrated Shield plan coverage; and (b) whether it will consider transparently publishing comparative data on insurer profitability on their private hospital insurance portfolio and premium changes to help consumers make more informed decisions.
In 2025, the Ministry of Health (MOH) ran a public education campaign to educate the public on the Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) and riders, to understand the distortive effects of IP riders, and encourage policyholders to size their health insurance coverage appropriately.
In addition, MOH publishes comparisons of benefits, features and indicative lifetime premiums across IPs, as well as service indicators for the insurers. In 2025, MOH and the Central Provident Fund Board also launched the Health Insurance Planner, an interactive tool that helps Singaporeans to make informed decisions about their health insurance coverage.
On insurers' profits, aggregate numbers on gross premiums collected and claims settled across insurers are publicly available. As explained in response to Parliamentary Question Nos 1 to 4 on 24 September 2025, the gross premiums collected and claims settled for IPs reveal that most insurers are barely breaking even or making losses on their health portfolios. [Please refer to "Reviewing Regulatory Framework for Integrated Shield Plans and Assessing Practice of Pre-authorisation", Official Report, 24 September 2025, Vol 96, Issue 4, Oral Answers to Questions section.]
The distortion caused by IP riders is benefitting no one.
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