Health Insurance & Reembursmeng Policies

[kortizol]

Hi All,

My health insurance policy covers general gp visits / general dental etc all cashless.

What I've found out by accident is that when you need 40k of surgery they expect you to pay upfront and seek repayment via their claims process - something that was completely brushed over on all policy documentation & marketing material (for good reason it would seem as that can be quite a problem when it's needed the most).

I've found out as part of a health situation and I am faced with the daunting challenge of coming up with 30k cash ( 10k they will guarantee ) or not getting treated.

The hospital won't facilitate an installments based option, and the insurance company has indicated (while specifically avoiding liability until claim is processed ) that they will cover 95%+ of the costs ultimately.

Has anyone been in this situation and if so what are the options available to avoid emptying out bank accounts to front the money for the insurance company until they pay out ?

This is a massively stressful discovery beyond the stress of the medical issue itself which also isn't fun at all

K.

[3carlos]

I encourage all expats to run through the process upfront while they are coming to Singapore - a $40k bill is extremely possible, and some companies don't even cover more than the normal $15-$25k per "disability".

Most larger companies have policies which cost a certain amount and should be able to issue Letter of Guarantee (LOG) for you, but unfortunately, if you have no personal cover, and your company doesn't offer LOG, then you may want to try to arrange some instalment plan with the hospital, keep an extra credit card, or have emergency funds (from the money that is saved from not having personal insurance).

Another thing you can do to keep the cost low is to visit a government hospital instead of a private hospital.

The options aren't pretty, but here they are.