[SINGAPORE] Insurer Great Eastern (GE) has temporarily suspended pre-authorisation certificates for Mount Elizabeth Hospitals from Tuesday (Jun 17).
In a message to its panel doctors, the insurer said that high costs from Mount Elizabeth and Mount Elizabeth Novena hospitals, compared to other private hospitals, have driven this decision.
“We have observed that average hospital charges at these two facilities are consistently higher than those at comparable private hospitals for similar procedures and case profiles,” GE said. “This has a direct impact on out-of-pocket expenses and insurance affordability for our customers.”
As part of its commitment to long-term sustainability and to manage escalating healthcare inflation, GE said it is prioritising facilities that deliver the same care with higher transparency and cost effectiveness.
Pre-authorisation is a service where coverage for medical costs based on one’s policy coverage and benefits is approved before an insured member’s hospitalisation.
“We want to assure you that this is not a reflection of your clinical quality, and patients may still choose to be treated at these hospitals,” said GE in the note.
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Customers of the insurer can still seek care from Mount Elizabeth and Mount Elizabeth Novena, but will have no pre-authorisation facility, with no change to their benefits and claims assessed as usual.
This suspension will not affect other IHH hospitals and facilities such as Gleneagles and Parkway East.
“We have observed that, over the past few years, certain private hospitals have been charging significantly more for similar treatment or the same clinical outcomes,” said a GE spokesperson.
GE and IHH have been in active discussions over the past few months, which have not yet been concluded according to Yong Yih Ming, chief operating officer, IHH Healthcare Singapore and chief executive officer, Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
The insurance provider said that these discussions are part of its efforts to manage rising healthcare costs and ensure long-term affordability for its policyholders. There is no change to policyholders’ coverage, said the spokesperson. Policyholders can still file claims for treatment from either hospital. They will be assessed, and eligible and covered claims paid.
These efforts are part of GE’s responsibility to keep protection accessible and sustainable, said the spokesperson.
“Since pre-authorisation certificates confirm coverage and guarantees the claims before admission, we are temporarily pausing these for the specified hospitals, as this helps us address the issue of rising charges from the two hospitals,” said the GE spokesperson.
This unilateral move by GE came as a surprise according to IHH’s Yong.
“We do not agree with GE’s claim about higher prices at two of our hospitals for similar procedures and case profiles,” he said.
IHH hospitals has different focus and areas of excellence – Mount Elizabeth and Mount Elizabeth Novena have facilities and equipment to manage patients and perform surgery that are not available in other hospitals.
“This is also why some of the more complex cases are managed at these two hospitals,” said Yong.
IHH is committed to support GE health policyholders in providing access to necessary care. The healthcare provider is mindful that some patients may be in the midst of active medical care or have past treatment records at the affected hospitals.
“Despite GE’s withdrawal of pre-authorisation, we will continue to honour their policy coverage and accord them cashless access to hospital admissions. This ensures that these patients do not need to worry about cash outlay for their treatment. We are also working closely with our specialists to avail price packages to patients, to help manage their cost of care,” Yong added.
This move comes as the Singapore government expects healthcare spending to be the biggest line item. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung predicts that healthcare spending will be close to S$30 billion a year by 2030.
Singapore’s national health insurance scheme MediShield Life has also increased premiums and claim limits from April 2025, with the government providing S$4.1 billion in subsidies and MediSave top-ups to offset the premium increases.
A year ago at the 25th anniversary celebration dinner of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), Ong had warned of a “buffet syndrome” of overly generous health insurance terms, which allow non-critical or even unnecessary tests and treatments being prescribed, which in turn leads to bigger bills and higher premiums for all.
Private insurers will also have to take a “hard and realistic look” at their product design, and rein in “generous and unsustainable” terms, such as no-claim limits and very low co-payments, he said.
