How to decide between Elite-P and Classic-P or Elite A and Classic A for Great Eastern Hospitalisation Plan?

1. Start with the Ward Options

A = A Wards in Govt & Restructured Hospitals

P = Private Hospitals

Private Plan allows you to go to restructured without additional cost. but if you are on an A plan and you wish to go Private, you can still go but only a portion of the bills will be covered.

2. Rider ELITE vs CLASSIC

As mentioned by Jun Xi, he has given the examples. on how the classic and elite plans work.

The benchmark is actually $70,000 for medical bills, that is where the plans converge.

Classic: 70,000 * 5% or Deductible = $3.5k

Elite: 70,000 * 5% = $3.5k

so any hospital bills below $70,000, means your out of pocket expenses will be lesser if you chose the ELITE rider.

Who buys Classic:

People that are Premium sensitive, or sits well with their financial situation. Having cover is better than none.

Who buys Elite:

People who want a fuss free simple 5% out of pocket expenses on all hospital bills.

No one can tell the future, as to how large a bill will be, a day surgery can set one back at about 30k. but it hasn't hit the 70k bill yet.

Hope this helps.​​​

Hi,

You will have to first decide the kind of wards (private or govt A ward) you prefer. Of course, private wards will result in a higher premium.

Difference between Elite and Classic is the amount of co-payment. For elite, its just 5% of the bill, capped at $3k if through panel doctor. For classic, its the higher of 5% or deductible ($3.5k), capped at $3k if through panel doctor.

Example 1: $10,000 Bill

Elite: 5% of $10,000 = $500 (you pay $500, remaining claim from GE)

Classic: higher of 5% or deductible ($3.5k), hence you pay $3.5k, remaining claim from GE (if use panel doctor, you only pay $3k).

Example 2: $100,000 Bill

Elite: 5% of $100,000 = $5000 (you pay $5000, remaining claim from GE)

Classic: higher of 5% or deductible ($3.5k), hence you pay $5000, remaining claim from GE.

You only need to pay $3k if use panel doctor for both plans.

So you can see that, elite is better for smaller bill while for bigger bill size, both plans basically works the same.

I usually advice my client to go for a classic plan because the premiums are around 2 to 3 times cheaper than the elite plan. The premiums for elite plan will only be worth it if one is frequently hospitalised, if not, the amount you save from choosing a classic plan is more than enough to cover the $3k co-payment.

As for private or A ward, if you are still young and the premium is still affordable, my advice is to get the private plan first, you can still downgrade it in the future. Downgrading is easier compared to upgrading as upgrading of plan requires medical underwriting.

Hope that answer your question. Feel free to contact me (email at my bio) if you have any more questions.

Cheers!​​​