On ISP: Should I choose the 50% cheaper class A ward plan, or should I get myself insured against public hospitals altogether? I'm 24 and can comfortably afford either, and am ok with the coverages of both plans, just worried about inefficiency.?

Hi Anonymous, what if you look to manage cost from your rider choice instead of choosing between private and Class A ward.

There are certainly benefits with have a coverage of up to private hospital especially when you can afford it. Anyway, medisave can be used to cover most of the base plan premiums and its the rider that will cost you cashflow.

NTUC has a 10% co-payment rider. AIA and Pru have a rider with restricted benefits. These are some examples.

I've an analysis on how to save on shield plan that could help you understand your choices.

https://www.theastuteparent.com/2019/01/am-i-pa...

Good luck and take care!

One question, are you currently having an existing ISP? If you do have an existing ISP that covers gov class A ward, by upgrading the plan to cover yourself for private hospitals, you would be exposed to the ~5% co-payment feature (from 1st April 2019) that was recently rolled out.

If you do not have an existing policy and inefficiency of the hospitals are your main concern, if I were you and since premiums are still affordable, I would choose the plan that covers private hospitals. In any case of non-emergency, if you were able to choose the public hospital ward A and below (a downgrade from your plan), some insurers would reward you with daily hospital incentives. Do check with your insurer on this one!

It would be best if you have a financial advisor to discuss your needs with in greater detail. I hope this helps!