For operations, I’m told that medical practitioners bill different prices depending on which insurance(s) I’m claiming against. Is this usual industry practice in Singapore ? It doesn’t seem right.?

Hi there,

The point you are referring to is the discrepancy between private and public hospital pricings.

At public hospitals, costs are mostly subsidized whereas private hospitals are not subsidized at all. The standard of care you receive will be the same, but some treatments could cost more due to the expertise of the attending physician and in some cases, the only expert available to do certain procedures.

That is why insurers have moved towards a 95% billing for ISPs, to ensure that costs are controlled and patients are not overbilled because they have insurance coverage.

Hope i was able to address your queries!