IP rider co-payment cap and deductible: what changed for you on 1 April 2026

If you've bought a rider for your Integrated Shield Plan (IP) since 1 April 2026, it follows rules the Ministry of Health (MOH) set out on 26 November 2025. Your rider can't pay the deductible, the fixed sum you pay first each year. For a hospital stay, that's at least S$1,500 to S$3,500, depending on the ward class. The IP rider co-payment cap, the most your share of the rest of the bill can reach in a year, is at least S$6,000. In return, MOH says premiums for riders with the most cover are around 35% to 40% lower than older riders. Here's what that does to a real hospital bill, who it touches and what to check.

Riders sold from 1 April 2026 can't pay your IP deductible

The deductible is a fixed sum you pay before your IP pays anything. You pay it once in a policy year, and every bill in that year counts towards it. MOH sets the smallest deductible each IP must have, by ward class and type of treatment, as in the table below.

What changed for riders sold from 1 April 2026

Under many older riders, the insurer could pay the deductible for you. A rider sold since 1 April 2026 isn't allowed to. MOH says the deductible is there to make people more careful about how much healthcare they use.

Here's the difference on a S$10,000 private hospital bill with a S$3,500 deductible, from an example in a memo by the Life Insurance Association (LIA). With an older rider, the patient paid S$500. With a rider sold since 1 April 2026, they pay S$3,825.

MOH applies the lower of two amounts: the one for the ward your plan is meant for, and the one for the ward you stay in. So a private hospital plan has a S$2,000 deductible if you stay in a Class B2 ward. A plan for Class B1 wards has a S$2,500 deductible even if you stay in a private hospital.

LIA says the deductible can be higher for some older age bands. There's more on how insurance deductibles work in Singapore in our guide.

Smallest IP deductible a year, by ward class (MOH, as at November 2025)
Ward class you stay in	Smallest deductible
Class A or private hospital	S$3,500
Class B1	S$2,500
Class B2	S$2,000
Class C	S$1,500
Day surgery or short stay, non-subsidised	S$2,000
Day surgery or short stay, subsidised	S$1,500
Outpatient treatment	None set by MOH

The co-payment cap rises from S$3,000 to at least S$6,000 a year

After the deductible, you still pay at least 5% of the bill. That's the co-payment, and MOH hasn't changed the 5%. For a rider sold since 1 April 2026, LIA says the 5% is worked out on the bill after the deductible comes off.

The cap is the most your co-payments can add up to in a policy year. MOH set it at a minimum of S$3,000 in 2018. A rider sold since 1 April 2026 must have a cap of at least S$6,000, and the deductible doesn't count towards it.

The cap only covers eligible claims, such as ones from a panel doctor or ones your insurer said yes to in advance. S$6,000 is the lowest cap MOH allows, so your rider's cap could be higher. With a S$6,000 cap, a very large private hospital bill could cost you the S$3,500 deductible plus S$6,000 in co-payments.

LIA's memo shows this for a S$125,000 bill, where the patient's share goes from S$3,000 under an older rider to S$9,500.

You can pay both the deductible and the co-payment from MediSave, up to its withdrawal limits.

What does a hospital bill look like with one of these riders?

MOH's own example is a 40-year-old woman who had never bought a rider, because the premiums were more than her budget allowed. She adds a private hospital rider in April 2026. She pays S$500 a year less than people her age who bought riders earlier.

In MOH's example, she tears a knee ligament playing sports in December 2026 and has surgery in a private hospital. Here's how her bill works out:

The bill comes to S$38,700.
She pays the S$3,500 deductible.
She pays S$1,760 in co-payment.
That's S$5,260 in all, and MediSave can cover S$3,900 of it, within its withdrawal limits.
She pays S$1,360 in cash. Without a rider, she'd have paid S$3,120.

Rider premiums are around 35% to 40% lower, MOH says

When it announced the rules, MOH expected rider premiums to be about 30% lower on average than riders with the most cover. It put the saving at around S$600 a year for private hospital riders and S$200 for public hospital riders. Older people would save more.

All seven IP insurers have since launched riders that meet the rules. MOH now says premiums for riders with the most cover are around 35% to 40% lower than older riders. LIA's memo gives a wider range of 16% to 84% lower, depending on your age, your cover and the type of hospital.

A rider's premium has to be paid fully in cash, and it rises a lot as you get older, MOH says. Your IP premium is different, because CPF Board lets you use MediSave for it. Our guide to what an insurance rider is explains how the two fit together.

MOH says the rules do mean you pay more of a smaller bill yourself. What goes down is the cash premium you pay every year. You can use our Integrated Shield Plan premium calculator to put a number on that premium.

Who do the rules affect, and who don't they?

Insurers stopped selling riders that don't meet the rules on 1 April 2026. What happens to a rider you already hold depends on the date you bought it. Our post on five things to know about the IP rider changes has more on each date.

Bought on or after 1 April 2026: your rider follows the rules in full.
Bought from 27 November 2025 to 31 March 2026: your rider moves to one that meets the rules. That happens by your first renewal on or after 1 April 2028, and your insurer had to tell you so. LIA says insurers will make the switch without fresh underwriting, an insurer's new look at your health, if the benefits are the same or lower.
Bought before 27 November 2025: there's no change to your benefits for now. LIA says you may choose to move to a new rider from the same insurer that meets the rules. The new one has the same or lower benefits, and there's no fresh underwriting. MOH left each insurer to decide its own approach, and LIA's memo, reported in April 2026, said insurers were reviewing their options.
Everyone: the 5% minimum co-payment stays as it was.

What should you check before you buy or renew a rider?

Before you buy, renew or change a rider, look up these six things. Our guide, the Integrated Shield Plan comparison, puts the plans side by side.

Your IP's ward class. Your deductible is the lower of the amounts for your plan's ward and the ward you stay in. The table in the first section lists them.
The date you bought your rider, since it sets which of the three groups above you're in.
The cash premium you pay for the rider each year. MOH's Health Insurance Planner shows how much you've paid for health insurance.
Whether the doctors you'd use are on your insurer's panel, because the cap only covers eligible claims, such as ones from a panel doctor.
How much MediSave you have, since it can pay the deductible and co-payment within withdrawal limits.
What your insurer plans for riders bought before 27 November 2025. MOH suggests people in that group speak to their financial adviser.

Frequently asked questions

Does the S$6,000 cap include the deductible?

No. The cap only counts your co-payments, the share of at least 5% you pay after the deductible. With a S$6,000 cap, the most you'd pay on eligible private hospital claims in a year is the S$3,500 deductible plus S$6,000. S$6,000 is the lowest cap MOH allows, so your rider's cap could be higher.

Can I pay the deductible and co-payment with MediSave?

Yes, within MediSave's withdrawal limits, MOH says. The rider premium is different: MOH says it has to be paid fully in cash, so it comes out of your pocket every year.

I bought a rider in December 2025. What happens to it?

Riders bought from 27 November 2025 to 31 March 2026 move to one that meets the rules. That happens by your first renewal on or after 1 April 2028. LIA says insurers will make the switch without fresh underwriting if the benefits are the same or lower.

Has the 5% co-payment changed?

No. MOH kept the minimum 5% co-payment. For riders sold since 1 April 2026, LIA says the 5% is worked out on the bill after the deductible. The yearly cap on it is at least S$6,000.

Should paying more of a small bill stop me seeing a doctor?

MOH says paying more of a smaller bill shouldn't stop anyone getting care when they need it. Your doctor can tell you which treatment is medically needed, based on standard clinical practice.

Sources

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This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.

Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).