Singapore Expats Forum
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Yes! And prices are so much more affordable here. In the US, I go to for eyes. Most of their frames are designer and very expensive, but I don't believe they're worth the price.malcontent wrote: ↑Wed, 25 Jan 2023 3:29 pmOne important thing to note for expats coming from North America - - you do not need a prescription to get corrective lenses here. You can just rock up and tell them what your degree is, and they will hand it over!
Also, practically every shop selling glasses here will check your eyes for free. This is night & day different (in a positive way) compared to how it works in the good ‘ole USA.
Agree, it’s been a very long time since I bought any corrective lenses in the US. You have to look out for promotions where they include a free eye exam if you purchase lenses from them. Once I started working in the US my employer provided eye care benefits — that is the only silver lining, if you have a good employer.Lisafuller wrote: ↑Thu, 26 Jan 2023 3:27 amYes! And prices are so much more affordable here. In the US, I go to for eyes. Most of their frames are designer and very expensive, but I don't believe they're worth the price.malcontent wrote: ↑Wed, 25 Jan 2023 3:29 pmOne important thing to note for expats coming from North America - - you do not need a prescription to get corrective lenses here. You can just rock up and tell them what your degree is, and they will hand it over!
Also, practically every shop selling glasses here will check your eyes for free. This is night & day different (in a positive way) compared to how it works in the good ‘ole USA.
The positive of group benefits/insurance is that they can negotiate a better rate than the out of network/walk in price. Looked at one time, in isolation, this seems great.malcontent wrote: ↑Thu, 26 Jan 2023 11:28 amAgree, it’s been a very long time since I bought any corrective lenses in the US. You have to look out for promotions where they include a free eye exam if you purchase lenses from them. Once I started working in the US my employer provided eye care benefits — that is the only silver lining, if you have a good employer.Lisafuller wrote: ↑Thu, 26 Jan 2023 3:27 amYes! And prices are so much more affordable here. In the US, I go to for eyes. Most of their frames are designer and very expensive, but I don't believe they're worth the price.malcontent wrote: ↑Wed, 25 Jan 2023 3:29 pmOne important thing to note for expats coming from North America - - you do not need a prescription to get corrective lenses here. You can just rock up and tell them what your degree is, and they will hand it over!
Also, practically every shop selling glasses here will check your eyes for free. This is night & day different (in a positive way) compared to how it works in the good ‘ole USA.
In Singapore most employers do not cover eye care or dental. When this came up at our employee benefits review, I remarked to our HR team: blind and toothless also can!
I agree with your sentiments with regard to insurance. It should be a safety net in situations where “self-insure” option is not possible or practical for most people. The biggest problem with this in the Singapore context is that insurance companies are more concerned with protecting themselves than protecting the insured. In the US the insurance companies typically have a MOOP = maximum out of pocket, where anything above that is paid for by insurance, so you can be sure you’ll never pay more than the MOOP. Here it seems to be just the opposite, the insurance companies have their MOOP where they won’t pay anything over a certain dollar limit. For my employer’s medical cover, it is quite pathetic at just $40k, so if anything crazy happens and we get a six figure medical bill… we are on our own.NYY1 wrote: ↑Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:22 pmThe positive of group benefits/insurance is that they can negotiate a better rate than the out of network/walk in price. Looked at one time, in isolation, this seems great.malcontent wrote: ↑Thu, 26 Jan 2023 11:28 amAgree, it’s been a very long time since I bought any corrective lenses in the US. You have to look out for promotions where they include a free eye exam if you purchase lenses from them. Once I started working in the US my employer provided eye care benefits — that is the only silver lining, if you have a good employer.Lisafuller wrote: ↑Thu, 26 Jan 2023 3:27 am
Yes! And prices are so much more affordable here. In the US, I go to for eyes. Most of their frames are designer and very expensive, but I don't believe they're worth the price.
In Singapore most employers do not cover eye care or dental. When this came up at our employee benefits review, I remarked to our HR team: blind and toothless also can!
The negative is that group insurance does little to control long-run costs. Insurance providers simply charge expected cost to the pool (plus some admin/processing fee); they don't care whether costs go up or down. Further, when everyone is "insured," there tends to be an overuse of the good/service. Since no one is paying out of pocket, everyone thinks it is free (or discounted, i.e. I got a $1,000 treatment for $100 copay). But when everyone behaves that way, it just drives up costs or industry lobbies for rules like you must get a new prescription every year. In the end, insurance costs to employers are compensation to employees. If collectively healthcare costs were cut and employees got more cash, would that be bad?
At its core, insurance is meant to protect against losses from which one would find it hard to recover. I.e. if your house burns down that will be a major financial loss for most. But no need to insure the door knob on your wardrobe.
Looked at that way, there's little reason to insure (or have company cover/provide benefits or insurance) relatively small expenses like routine dental/vision. Major dental/vision issues and procedures/surgeries would be a different issue. Kind of like whether you insure an oil change for your car vs. theft/collision total loss (and one may not insure this if the car isn't worth much).
Alternatively, I think a lot of companies here have flex dollars that can be used for whatever service one needs most. No preferential rate or benefit, just reimbursement for out of pocket expenses that fit the guidelines.