having a baby in singapore with no private health insurance

[taleske]

Hi There

My husband and I are relocating to Singapore from Australia next month for my husbands work. We are expecting twins in june and have just been told by my current health insurance (Bupa) that even though i have been a member with them on the highest level of cover for over 5 years that we will not be covered in Singapore and will need to re wait out all waiting periods including pregnancy and birth.

This came as quite a shock to us as i thought we would be covered. I have been looking on a lot of websites trying to find out some more information on having a baby in a private hospital in singapore and estimated costs.

Hoping someone could give me a rough estimate of the costs of having our twins (possibly via c section) in a private hospital with my own obstetrician and no private cover. Also any recommendations on a good obstetrician and the bet hospital would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance

[ancientmariner]

Hi There

My husband and I are relocating to Singapore from Australia next month for my husbands work. We are expecting twins in june and have just been told by my current health insurance (Bupa) that even though i have been a member with them on the highest level of cover for over 5 years that we will not be covered in Singapore and will need to re wait out all waiting periods including pregnancy and birth.

This came as quite a shock to us as i thought we would be covered. I have been looking on a lot of websites trying to find out some more information on having a baby in a private hospital in singapore and estimated costs.

Hoping someone could give me a rough estimate of the costs of having our twins (possibly via c section) in a private hospital with my own obstetrician and no private cover. Also any recommendations on a good obstetrician and the bet hospital would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance

For an idea with Hospital bills, to start with, try these links -

http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/h ... lSize.html

http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/h ... ction.html

[sierra2469alpha]

I contacted a friend who had her daughter, and have posted her e-mailed reply to me FYI.

My OBGYN is TC Chang at Thomson Medical Centre. He is awesome! Unlike most OBGYN's in his field, when you make the appointment, the longest you'll ever need to wait in his office is about 15mins before you see him (there was a min of 1hr wait for my first OBGYN, even with appt) . He has an excellent bedside manner as well as team who get to know not only mummy, but mummy's family. All up, it cost me about $15k for Georgia over 4yrs ago, so assume that it will be a bit more expensive than that now. I've been to Thomson Medical and Mount Elizabeth and they are both very good.


Baring any complications with the delivery of twins, I would assume an all up bill of approx $25-30k. You pay as you go, so it won't seem so horrific till you tally up the totals.



Surprised that this lady's husband did not strike a deal with the coverage of pregnancy when he accepted the position in Singapore.


Regardless, she'll be pleasantly surprised with the sort of medical care that is provided for expectant mums..especially when you go private.


Hope this helps.

[taleske]

Thank you so much for your reply and getting in touch with your friend. Ive done a lot of looking into it and hopefully we can get away with no complications and paying around $15k if not as long as our little babies get to us health we will be happy!
Wishing our private health was valid in Singapore but not much we can do.

Thank you again!

[sierra2469alpha]

Best of luck

FYI I have used TTSH for other minor procedures - they are a large teaching hospital - might be worth a look-in?

Post back if you need any info from our friend.

[carteki]

This looks like it may be an option http://prudential.com.sg/corp/prudentia ... _gift.html

As with most insurance products in Singapore it is overly complicated and this is the first time I've seen the product. It probably is best to speak to an advisor who knows the in's and outs 1st. I can probably put you in touch with one if you're interested.

Kim

[stueyhall]

hi there, i am/was in a similair position with BUPA coverage in Aust and then came over here to Singapore where my wife is now pregnant. I investigated expat health insurance with the quoted price of about $6k annually being almost as much to pay for a pregnancy outright itself. plus there is the waiting period. But the expat insurance offered was also underwritten by BUPA and so I asked them whether the waiting periods could be transferred given im on a BUPA aust policy and my wife and I have sat the waiting periods out already.

The response I got was "What I have managed to find out is that there is one insurer in Singapore who are willing to ‘take over’ existing waiting periods that you have served with another insurer, provided you meet all the necessary requirements. This would mean that if your wife has had maternity benefits in Australia, for longer than 12 months, and a ‘take over’ application is approved, the waiting period with a new insurer could be waived."

Full cover at $6ishk is still a fair bit. but at least capped and not $15k.

I didnt end up going with this option as my work is now picking up the bill!

hope this helps. i can put you in touch with the person whom i dealt with if you need, they worked for the main expat insurance place here.

cheers

[carteki]

Funnily enough I don't think that the issue is the 1st $15k (in the current conversation). What I don't like is that most insurance cover in SG for preganancy is limited to $10k - which is the cost of a normal birth with NO complications. The whole point of insurance is to provide for the complications - ie the spend over $15k - yet very few companies cover that.