Changes to GREAT SupremeHealth
effective 1 October 2024

a)      What are the benefit changes made to my GREAT SupremeHealth (GSH) plan?

There will be changes to the following benefits of your GSH plan that will take effect on your Renewal Date.

[For GSH P Plus, A Plus and B Plus]

a) MIC@Home coverage
b) Pregnancy and Childbirth Complications
c) Expenses for Surgery
d) Expenses for Inpatient Sub-Acute
e) Expenses for Inpatient Rehabilitative Care
f) Expenses for Inpatient Palliative Care
g) Pre-Hospitalisation Treatment
h) Expenses prior to outpatient kidney dialysis treatment, proton beam therapy, cell, tissue and gene therapy, radiotherapy for cancer and cancer drug treatment
i) Expenses for Proton Beam Therapy
j) Coverage of Living Donor Organ Transplant
k) Deductible
l) Pro-ration Factor (applicable for GSH A Plus and B Plus only)

Please refer to Appendix A.1 for a detailed summary of the benefits changes to your GSH plan.

Details of benefits changes for GSH Standard and GSH Non As-Charged plans (GSH A and GSH B) are listed in Appendix A.2 and Appendix A.3 respectively.

a)      Are there premium changes for GREAT SupremeHealth (GSH) plan?

[For GSH P Plus]

There will be a revision to your GSH premium upon your policy renewal.  This revision is necessary to ensure that we are able to continue to cater to your long-term healthcare needs on a sustainable basis.

[For GSH A Plus, B Plus, A, B and Standard]

There is no premium increase for your GSH (Additional Private Insurance portion) except in the following circumstances:

•  when you have moved to a higher attained age with a published premium increase, and/or
•  when the Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) rate (from 8% to 9% in 2024) is revised in Singapore.

For foreigners, the full premium of their GREAT SupremeHealth plan is the sum of the MediShield Life Premium and the Additional Private Insurance Coverage Premium. Hence, the MediShield Life premium changes effective from 1 April 2025 is also applicable to them.

We review our Integrated Shield plans and supplementary plans regularly to ensure that the portfolio remains sustainable over the long term to meet your long term medical and hospitalisation needs. In recent years, medical claims have been on the rise.  This is driven by higher demand for healthcare services due to aging population, new medical technological advancements, and shift in consumption of medical treatment. It has become necessary to adjust the benefits and premiums (for selected plan types) to align with the rising healthcare costs, while ensuring that your plans still provide you with adequate coverage.

The changes will affect all policyholders with GREAT SupremeHealth (GSH) plans renewing on and after 1 October 2024.

The changes to your GSH plan will take effect on your policy renewal date, from 1 October 2024 onwards. You will be receiving a notification letter from us at least 30 days before your policy renewal date.

You can retrieve a copy of the notification letter or find out your policy Renewal Date by logging in to eConnect or by viewing your policy details on the Great Eastern app.

6.1.      What is a pro-ration factor?                                                

Our Integrated Shield plans (IPs) are designed to provide coverage based on the policyholder’s intended ward class, while offering the flexibility to use the plan for higher or lower ward classes, if needed.

If a policyholder of our restructured hospital plans chooses to be admitted to a higher class of wards/ hospitals than what his/her plan type was intended to cover, a pro-ration factor will apply.

The original bill amount will be adjusted by applying a pro-ration factor, which is based on a projected difference between the cost of a higher ward class that one is in, and what his/her plan was intended to cover. The pro-rated bill will approximate what it would have been, if one had received the treatment according to his/her intended plan coverage.

6.2      How do we apply such pro-ration factor?

To derive the proportion of the original bill that would be considered for IP claims payout, the original bill amount will be multiplied by the pro-ration factor. Thereafter, we will deduct the Deductibles (where applicable) from the bill, and reduce it proportionately by the Co-insurance.  The balance of the bill will be subject to the applicable benefit limits and annual benefit limit.

6.3.      Who will be impacted by the recent changes to the pro-ration factors?

The changes will affect policyholders with the following plans, renewing on and after 1 October 2024 and who seek treatments at a higher class of wards/ hospitals than his/her intended plan type:

• GREAT SupremeHealth A Plus & GREAT SupremeHealth B Plus
• GREAT SupremeHealth B

The pro-ration factors changes do not impact policyholders of:

• GREAT SupremeHealth P Plus or GREAT SupremeHealth A plan, where pro-ration factors (in relation to ward class entitlement) are not applicable.
• GREAT SupremeHealth A Plus, B Plus and B plans who do not seek treatment at a higher class of wards/ hospitals than his/her intended plan type.

6.4      What are the changes to the pro-ration factors for GREAT SupremeHealth and when will the changes take effect?

The changes are as follows for GREAT SupremeHealth A Plus, B Plus and B plans and will take effect on your policy renewal date, on and from 1 October 2024: 

Note: Please refer to the policy document for full terms and conditions on the pro-ration factors.

6.5      Why are the pro-ration factors being reduced?

• The pro-ration factors are applied to customers of GREAT SupremeHealth A Plus, B Plus and B who seek treatment at private medical providers or at a higher ward class than the ward class they had paid for.
• These pro-ration factors, which reflect the cost difference between private and restructured healthcare providers, have remained unchanged since the introduction of Great Eastern’s Integrated Shield plans. Meanwhile, the cost difference between private and restructured healthcare providers have increased significantly, over the years.
• The recent adjustments prevent restructured hospital plans customers from subsidising those who are on the same plans but choose to seek treatment at private medical providers or at a higher class than the class they had paid for. This creates a fairer and more balanced system.

6.6      I am an existing policyholder of GREAT SupremeHealth A Plus. If I incurred medical expenses for treatment at a higher ward class than my plan covers me for, will I be subject to the reduced pro-ration factors?

If your policy renews on and after 1 October 2024, the reduced pro-ration factors will apply for eligible claims that are incurred after such renewals.