How Much Health Insurance Will Cost You Over Your Lifetime

“Health is wealth” – so the saying goes, and as such, it makes sense that you’d want to protect your health as a key component of your assets. That’s where health insurance comes in, to ensure you have sufficient resources to get the treatment you need should you fall ill.

But how much health insurance do you need, and how much can you expect to pay as a result over your lifetime? We delve into the costs behind a robust healthcare plan.

Necessities of medical insurance

Comprehensive medical insurance comprises four parts, of which health insurance is one component. The illustration below gives an overall framework for what medical insurance should deliver for you.

In sum, comprehensive medical insurance should be able to cover hospitalisation bills and medical treatments, and replace your income should you not be able to work due to critical illness or disability.

Health insurance is a key aspect that covers your hospitalisation bills, surgeries and treatments, and certain outpatient treatments.

All Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) are automatically enrolled into the compulsory health insurance plan MediShield Life upon birth or receiving their PR status. This health insurance plan is administered by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board. This helps to cover large bills in subsidised B2/C wards in public hospitals, and selected outpatient treatments such as kidney dialysis and chemotherapy for cancer.

What is the annual cost of health insurance?

Should you be diagnosed with a serious ailment, you’ll want to be able to pay your hospital and treatment bills. In order to ensure this, there are three layers of financial protection you can consider, with the costs increasing as you age.

Apart from your age, the premiums payable using CPF MediSave and/or cash will also vary depending on the plan types you choose.

There is a limit on how much you can withdraw from your CPF MediSave to cover the premiums for enhanced coverage through the Integrated Shield Plan. The limits are set out in the table below.

If the premium for the Integrated Shield Plan exceeds the additional withdrawal limit, you’ll need to pay the excess using cash.

Read more: Should You Max Out Your Basic Healthcare Sum in Your CPF MediSave Account

How much will you pay in premiums over your lifetime?

The following illustrations will give you an understanding of how much the premiums for benefits under the Integrated Shield Plan – which allow you access to private or public hospitals – will cost you as you hit various age milestones.

This is based on the current premium rates across different insurers who are providing such health insurance plans. Take note that for these rates:

• Premiums under the main plan are inclusive of the MediShield Life premiums
• Premiums under the main plan will be payable using CPF MediSave unless the premium for the enhanced coverage exceeds the additional withdrawal limits

Based on age next birthday: 25