Meanwhile, starting July 2025, other enhancements will be applied to the minimum medical insurance provided to migrant workers, including:
- Standardization of allowable exclusion clauses. This will provide employers and employees with greater clarity on their coverage and available claims for them.
- Introduction of age-differentiated premiums for those aged 50 and below, and those aged above 50. Insurers need to have differentiated premiums for workers below 50 and those above 50.
- Requirement for insurers to reimburse hospitals directly upon the admissibility of the claim. With this change, employers will no longer have to pay for their workers’ hospital bills upfront before they can seek reimbursement from insurers.
“With the enhanced MI (medical insurance) coverage, employers will be better supported in managing the financial risks of larger medical bills. The enhancements have also been carefully calibrated to balance the sustainability of coverage against longer-term cost of premiums,” MOM said in an earlier announcement.
Businesses react
Businesses welcomed the enhancements announced by the government in its medical insurance scheme
“The enhancement to the medical insurance for Work Permit and S Pass Holders will better protect employers against large unexpected medical bills incurred by their foreign employees. The risk-pooling and the phased implementation will help ease the transition for employers, particularly those of smaller businesses, amid rising manpower and business costs,” said Sim Gim Guan, executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation, in a statement.