If you are Singaporean or Singapore PR, I am sure you've received notification from CPF Board or your insurer (for the Integrated Shield) on your Medishield Life coverage which was launched from 1st November 2015 onward. If you are still clueless about this compulsory National Health Insurance Scheme (which I doubt so), you may want to check out my earlier coverage here (2 Reasons Why I Will Still Stick To My Integrated Shield Plan), here (Important Tips Gathered From Industry Briefing), and here (Is Integrated Shield Still Necessary?).
Whether you are currently covering with Medishield Life only or already topped-up your coverage with Integrated Shield, you may want to take note that there is an upcoming Standard B Plan which is expected to be launched in 2nd Quarter 2016 (subject to change).
So what is this Standard B Plan and why is it necessary?
As you may know, the current Medishield Life coverage is pegged against the admission costs in the Class B2/C Wards, which means that if you choose to admit to the high wards like B1, A or Private Hospital, you will need to fork out some out-of-pocket money to cover the differences. Hence, the development of the Standard B Plan to cater for this segment of customers who are looking for coverage up to Class B1 Ward.
When it is launched, the Standard B Plan will be offered by all the 5 insurers* and its features and premium rates (in fact, all the policy terms and conditions) will be standardized across the board. To me, you can treat Standard B Plan as another upgrade option (from Medishield Life plan) which are comparable to some of the lower end Integrated Plan(s).
Cheers!
*5 insurers that currently providing the Integrated Shield Plans are :
AIA (HealthShield)
Aviva (MyShield)
Great Eastern (SupremeHealth)
NTUC Income (INcomeShield)
Prudential (PruShield)