Importance of medical insurance in Singapore

Recently Kelvin was warded due to a sudden illness and while thankfully he recovered after his stay in the hospital, it really made me fully understand the importance of having a good comprehensive health insurance coverage in Singapore.

We had the option to choose a private hospital because of my company's insurance coverage which covers up to 1 bed (in either govt or pte hospital). At that time, we immediately decided to send him to the A&E at Mt Alvernia as this was the closest hospital to us and previously, his granny had been warded there so i knew the hospital service was pretty good and fast.

Thank goodness we chose Mt Alvernia because its really not fun staying at a hospital. The staff there was pretty good and while it was pretty frustrating initially because the hosp still could not confirm what was the diagnosis (which was cleared up after I requested to speak to the staff nurse as well as the specialist assigned to Kelvin), overall i must say im pretty impressed with the level of service and care provided by the hospital.

I think we were really fortunate and lucky to be able to upgrade from the 2 bedder to 1 bedder so that i could stay over at the hosp with him to accompany him and this also allowed Kelvin to feel more comfortable while recovering from his sepsis infection.  Really thank God for his blessings and for the fact that we didnt have to worry about the medical bill and just had to concentrate on getting him better.

Previously when my dad stayed at TTSH when he had a major stroke, the experience was very different. I remember staying with him in the crowded A&E ward till very late, he was sent to hosp at evening but it was only around 4am plus that he finally got a bed.

They didnt even give him any medication at the A&E and just said that he had passed the period where they could do something about the stroke so it was too late and no point giving any medicine..The nurses were always busy (and not very friendly) and we didnt have much chance to talk to the doc at all and had to rely on updates from the nurses.

Whereas at Mt Alvernia, the service was really good. There was a toiletry pouch provided with shampoo and conditioner and lotion in in and in the 1 bedder ward, there was a hot flask provided with packets of milo and tea which you could make hot tea yourself.  The meals provided were also pretty good, they had food options like baked salmon and pasta and for tea break, they even gave tau sah piah with horlicks/milo! No wonder they say you really need money in Singapore if you are sick, this is really not a joke!

Now i'm thinking how we can get a fully comprehensive medical cover for Kelvin so that he can stay in private hosp next time even without any company insurance coverage hmmm..Its a little tough because he has high cholesterol so im not sure what are our options. For myself, I had already purchased Prushield Extra which allows me to stay at any private hosp and my medical bill will be fully covered.

I also wish i could buy a fully comprehensive package for my mum now where she can stay at private hosp and can be fully covered but because she has an existing condition, we are not able to do that. But im glad at least i upgraded her coverage to the enhanced Incomeshield plan which provided additional coverage on top of the basic plan. And with the incomeshield life plan that is coming up, maybe that would help as well.