Panel Doctors in Singapore: What do they do?
Once you’ve availed health insurance in Singapore, your insurer will certainly introduce you to a list of panel doctors. For those who are new to this, you may wonder what panel doctors actually are in the first place.
To help you get some answers, we provided the most essential things you need to know about panel doctors in Singapore. Curious to find out? Read on!
What are panel doctors?
Panel doctors are your usual cardiologists, nephrologists, dermatologists, and more. The only difference they have with other doctors is that they’re listed in an insurance company’s pool of approved specialists.
This means that you can avail the services of these medical specialists from various healthcare institutions at a discounted rate, given that you have an Integrated Shield Plan (IP).
Not sure what that is? An IP is a private health insurance that helps cover both hospitalisation and surgical bills on top of your Medishield coverage.
While this health plan is optional, it’s highly advisable to get one due to its wide coverage and benefits. According to the Straits Times, approximately 2.85 million people in Singapore have an IP.
Why should you choose a panel doctor?
The major advantage when it comes to choosing a panel doctor is the assurance that there will be no overservicing, overcharging, and even over-consumption of healthcare services.
Panel doctors signed a contract where they agreed to charge within the fee range or benchmark set by the Ministry of Health (MOH). Thus, this ensures that all of the claims are covered, capped, and charged at a reasonable cost.
To weigh things out, the table below shows some of the pros and cons when you choose a panel doctor:
Keep in mind that when choosing from several panel doctors, there’s a good chance that your go-to doctor might not be part of the list provided by your insurer.
Insurers with Panel of Specialists for Integrated Shield Plans
You must also take into consideration that your selected insurer will greatly affect the number of panel doctors that you can choose from.
Here are the seven major health insurance companies in Singapore with panel doctors:
On top of your IP, you may choose to avail a rider, which is an optional provision that can add benefits or amend the basic terms of your insurance policy. It’s also used to lessen your out-of-pocket expenses for medical bills.
As of April 2021, IPs now require a 5% co-payment. This means that you’ll need to pay a certain amount from your own pocket to cover the bills.