Do you know that if one is to be admitted into hospital… it’s not always a straight forward process and there are many paper work to be done first?
And if it’s for a surgery, there’s usually an upfront payment to be done first (do pardon me if I did not list down the exact admission procedures and requirements) and if it’s a serious surgical procedure, the bill size is going to be huge as well as the upfront payment!
So if this is going to be one of your main concerns (e.g. your Medisave Account does not have enough) and you do not have a Private Health Insurance Plans (this is different from your Medishield), it is time to consider getting it because of one of its many benefits – the Letter Of Guarantee!
What Is This Letter Of Guarantee All About?
– A Little History
A little history about it… this Letter Of Guarantee used to be one Unique Selling Propositions of a particular Local Insurance Company to make their Health Insurance Plan stand out from the rest. If you see one of their Financial Planners explaining this particular product, the Letter Of Guarantee (LOG) will always be brought out.
Moving forward… another foreign insurance company decides to join into this and in this recent few years, all of the insurance companies in Singapore that offer their version of Health Insurance Plans & Benefits do include this Letter Of Guarantee as part of the whole package!
It may not be stated in the benefits chart or brochure but you can be assured that if you do have a Private Health Insurance Plan, this LOG is part of the benefits plan. If you are unsure, please check with your Financial Planner to get a clearer picture.
Do note that if you have the Medishield Plan that is administered by the CPF Board, this Letter Of Guarantee Benefit is not included.
– What Is This LOG All About
In a nutshell, this is a form of assurance from the Insurance Company that they will take care of the upfront payment to the limit of $10,000 at Hospital Admission. One Insurance Company does allow extension of this $10,000 limit but subjected to further application upon admission and approval by their Claims Department.
If the upfront payment is larger than that, the difference may have to be taken care of by either Cash or by your Medisave Account.
Also do note that the LOG is a form of assurance for smoother and quicker hospital admission (sometimes life and death is determined by a small fraction of time) and is not a form of guarantee which means that if due to any initial claims issues (e.g. non-disclosure of certain issues, outstanding premiums, etc)… the Hospitals may still be obliged to ask the patients for the full upfront payment to be taken care first and the Insurer may reimburse the patient back if the claim is valid.
How To Get Hold Of A Letter Of Guarantee?
If you know beforehand that you will be down for a Surgical Procedure and you have gone through a Financial Counseling, you can basically ask to check if you are eligible for one.
Those Hospitals (note: Specialist Clinics may not have access to this as yet) that are participating in this Program will have an online system to access which they can check the amount that you are eligible for. If the system is able to show the amount – this means you are eligible and this LOG can be generated at the date of admission itself.
For those who do not have the system, you may have to (or ask your Financial Planner to help you) contact the Customer Helpline of the respective Insurance Company to check your eligibility and have them prepare and issue it.
And that’s it! So once you are down for the procedure and with the LOG… there’s lesser waiting time and the admission procedure is smoother and quicker as well!
So if you have yet to get your Private Health Insurance Plans, do consider this one benefit (out of many) as an assurance of a good Peace of Mind!
