Expat health insurance in Singapore is private medical cover bought by foreign pass holders, because MediShield Life, Singapore's national health insurance scheme, covers Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents only. Employment Pass, S Pass, Work Permit and Dependant Pass holders have received no government hospital subsidy since October 2007, while citizens receive up to 80% and permanent residents up to 50% for acute inpatient care. A median coronary artery bypass graft at a Singapore private hospital is S$112,977, and no part of it is subsidised for you. Expats in Singapore have three options: international private medical insurance, a foreigner-eligible local Integrated Shield Plan, or employer group cover.
This guide explains how the system actually treats foreigners, what a hospital stay really costs, what your three options are, and how to choose between them.
ExpatMedicare has arranged international medical cover for expatriates since 2001, and compares plans from 25+ international insurers. About us.
Singapore expat health insurance at a glance
- Expect to leave Singapore
- International health insurance, because it moves with you
- Plan to stay permanently
- Compare a local Integrated Shield plan against international cover
- Already have employer cover
- Check what it excludes and what happens when the job ends
- Have a pre-existing condition
- Get underwriting assessed before you compare on price
- Are planning a pregnancy
- Start before conception. Waiting periods run 12 to 24 months
- Want the lowest premium
- Adjust cover area and deductible first, before cutting benefits
Where your cover has to work
Singapore runs one of the best health systems in the world. As a foreigner you use all of it at the unsubsidised rate.
Marina Bay
Gardens by the Bay
Jewel ChangiHow does healthcare work in Singapore for foreigners?
Singapore runs a mixed public and private system. Public hospitals deliver most acute care and are heavily subsidised, but that subsidy is tied to residency status, not to where you live or how long you have been here.
Citizens and Permanent Residents are subsidised. Foreigners are not.
Singapore public hospitals sell care by ward class. Subsidy attaches to the ward, then to your residency status and household income.
| Ward class | Singapore Citizen | Permanent Resident | Foreigner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class C | 50% to 80% | 25% to 50% | No subsidy |
| Class B2 | 50% to 80% | 25% to 50% | No subsidy |
| Class B2+ | Up to 50% | Up to 25% | No subsidy |
| Class B1 | Unsubsidised | Unsubsidised | Unsubsidised |
| Class A | Unsubsidised | Unsubsidised | Unsubsidised |
You are not barred from public hospitals. You pay the unsubsidised rate in every ward class. Subsidies for foreigners ended in October 2007. The one exception is emergency care: MOH states that at hospital Emergency Departments, "fees will not discriminate between nationality or citizenship".
Why MediShield Life does not cover you
MediShield Life is Singapore's basic national health insurance scheme. MOH describes it as protecting "all Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents against large medical bills, regardless of age or health conditions". Work pass and Dependant Pass holders sit outside that definition. There is no opt-in and no waiting period to become eligible. Residency status is the gate.
You also have no MediSave balance, because CPF contributions are not payable for foreign employees.
Your pass decides what your employer owes you
Work Permit and S Pass holders carry a statutory S$60,000 minimum. Employment Pass holders get whatever the contract says, and not a dollar more.
What is your employer required to provide?
This depends entirely on your pass, and it is where most of the confusion sits.
Work Permit and S Pass holders: cover is mandatory
Employers in Singapore must buy and maintain medical insurance for every Work Permit holder and migrant domestic worker they employ, before the pass can be issued or renewed. The same requirement applies to S Pass holders under a separate Ministry of Manpower page with identical terms. The minimum is at least S$60,000 per year of coverage, in force since 1 July 2023. The Ministry of Manpower sets a claims co-payment split of 75% by insurers and 25% by employers for claim amounts above S$15,000, and states plainly that "the insurance cost cannot be passed on to your workers".
From 1 July 2025, MOM's Stage 2 requirements add standardised exclusion clauses, age-differentiated premiums split into two bands at 50 years, and payment made directly from the insurer to the hospital.
Employment Pass holders: nothing is mandated
MOM's migrant worker insurance requirement does not extend to Employment Pass holders. Cover is a matter for your employment contract, not statute. If you hold an EP, assume nothing is mandated. Read your contract, and if it is silent, the gap is yours.
Employer cover and personal cover are not interchangeable. Employer cover disappears when your employment changes. A personal policy is under your control. Employers arranging staff cover should start with group medical insurance.
A median bypass here is S$112,977
Not an estimate. That is the Ministry of Health's published median bill for 2023 discharges at a private hospital, and no part of it is subsidised for a foreigner.
What does treatment actually cost without cover?
Most guides say Singapore healthcare is expensive and leave it there. The Ministry of Health publishes what hospital bills actually came to, so here are the real numbers.
| Treatment | Private hospital | Public, Ward A | Public, Ward B1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vaginal delivery | 10,815 | 6,024 | 4,463 |
| Caesarean section, uncomplicated | 15,805 | 9,839 | 8,490 |
| Gallbladder removal | 21,157 | 8,647 | 8,621 |
| Appendicectomy | 23,576 | 8,831 | 7,638 |
| Coronary angioplasty with stent | 47,230 | 22,588 | 20,245 |
| Stroke with major complications | 50,527 | 17,052 | 15,399 |
| Bilateral knee replacement | 69,518 | 38,691 | 30,395 |
| Coronary artery bypass graft | 112,977 | 43,587 | 37,681 |
Not sure which of the three routes fits you? Answer four questions and see real plans from 25+ international insurers, priced for your age and your family. Takes about 15 seconds.
Get my quote →Three routes, and they are not equivalent
The differences stay invisible until the worst week of your life, which is the wrong time to find them.
What are your three options?
For most expats the practical choice is between three routes. They are not equivalent, and the differences only become visible at the worst possible moment: a claim, a job change, or a relocation.
| International (IPMI) | Local Integrated Shield | Employer cover | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portability | Moves with you, per cover area | Ends when you leave Singapore | Ends when the job ends |
| Underwriting | Full medical or moratorium | Restricted for foreigners | Usually guaranteed acceptance |
| Pre-existing conditions | Can often be covered, with terms | Not covered on GREAT SupremeHealth | Often covered while employed |
| Maternity | Available, 12 to 24 month wait | Rarely included | Rarely included |
| Treatment outside Singapore | Yes, per cover area | No | Limited or none |
| Deductible and co-insurance | You choose the deductible | Deductible plus 10% co-insurance | Depends on the scheme |
| Who controls the policy | You | You | Your employer |
| Renewal | Guaranteed lifetime with most insurers | Tied to residency and a valid pass | Employer's decision |
International private medical insurance
IPMI is global health insurance built for people who move. You keep the same policy across countries, you keep your medical history and any accrued waiting periods, and cover does not depend on your visa or your employer. Providers in this market include Cigna Global, AXA Global Healthcare, Allianz Care and Bupa Global. Cover areas are sold as worldwide including the US, worldwide excluding the US, or region-limited, and the US inclusion is the single largest price lever.
Best for: expats who expect to move again, anyone with pre-existing conditions to disclose, families planning children, and anyone who wants cover that outlasts a job.
Local Integrated Shield Plans for foreigners
Some Singapore insurers write plans open to foreigners. Great Eastern's GREAT SupremeHealth is the most commonly cited: foreigners need a Singapore residential address and a pass valid for at least six months, and are eligible for the P Plus, P Prime and A Plus plan types only, paying in cash rather than from MediSave.
These plans are cheaper than global cover and the annual limits are high: S$1,500,000 on P Plus, S$1,200,000 on A Plus, with unlimited lifetime cover. Local Integrated Shield Plans are Singapore-anchored, so cover will not follow you abroad. And Great Eastern states that GREAT SupremeHealth does not provide coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Best for: expats settled in Singapore long term with no plans to relocate and no medical history to place, who want private ward access at a lower premium.
Employer-provided cover
Employer group cover is the cheapest route for the employee, because the employer pays. It also normally accepts you without medical underwriting, which matters a great deal if you have a health history. The risk of employer cover is concentration: the policy belongs to your employer and ends the day the job ends. If a condition developed while you were covered, you may then have to disclose it as pre-existing when you apply for your own policy, at an age when premiums are higher.
Best for: a foundation, not a complete plan. Many expats hold employer cover and a personal policy alongside it.
Direct settlement, or your credit card
A median bypass at a Singapore private hospital is S$112,977. Reimbursement means funding that yourself first, then waiting.
How do claims work on expat health insurance in Singapore?
International private medical insurance in Singapore pays the actual cost of treatment, either by settling directly with the hospital or by reimbursing you against submitted medical bills. It does not pay a lump sum. Critical illness insurance is a separate product that pays a single fixed sum on diagnosis of a listed condition, with no bills required and no link to what treatment costs. The two are confused because both are sold to the same expatriate buyer.
Direct settlement matters most in Singapore, where a median coronary artery bypass graft at a private hospital is S$112,977 and reimbursement means funding that bill yourself first. Ask which specific hospitals your insurer settles with directly, not whether they have a network. If you are weighing an admission, our emergency and inpatient cover page explains how settlement works in practice.
[CLIENT INPUT: name the Singapore hospitals where ExpatMedicare's placed insurers settle directly, and state the claim submission window in days.]
The third most expensive market in the world
Behind only the United States and Hong Kong. Medical cost inflation here is projected at 16.9% for 2026, against a global average of 10.3%.
How much does expat health insurance cost in Singapore?
Singapore is the third most expensive market in the world for international private medical insurance, behind the United States and Hong Kong, according to Pacific Prime's Cost of International Health Insurance Report. Two people the same age can still be quoted very differently, so the published averages below are a starting point, not your number.
| Market | Individual | Family | Global rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 9,817 | 28,250 | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 7,810 | 22,067 | 2 |
| Singapore | 7,028 | 20,351 | 3 |
| Dubai | 5,687 | 17,637 | 4 |
What a local plan costs, published in full
Great Eastern publishes a dedicated annual premium table for foreigners holding an eligible pass. It is the only fully published rate card available to expats in this market, so it is worth seeing beside the international averages.
| Age next birthday | P Plus | P Prime | A Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 to 30 | 751.71 | 550.06 | 398.55 |
| 31 to 35 | 1,134.11 | 855.07 | 637.07 |
| 36 to 40 | 1,183.16 | 882.32 | 655.60 |
| 41 to 45 | 1,930.83 | 1,358.58 | 895.33 |
| 46 to 50 | 1,994.05 | 1,394.55 | 917.13 |
| 51 to 55 | 3,009.97 | 2,079.11 | 1,287.77 |
| 56 to 60 | 3,601.84 | 2,409.38 | 1,439.28 |
| 61 to 63 | 5,093.15 | 3,341.52 | 1,825.33 |
| 66 to 68 | 6,881.73 | 4,425.96 | 2,485.76 |
For context, a Singapore Citizen aged 31 to 40 pays S$503 a year for MediShield Life, fully payable from MediSave. That is the baseline a foreigner does not get.
Prices are rising faster here than almost anywhere
WTW's 2026 Global Medical Trends Survey projects Singapore's medical cost trend at 16.9% for 2026, up from 15.5% in 2025, against a global average of 10.3%. The survey covered 346 insurers across 82 countries. Waiting a year to arrange cover is not a neutral decision.
Eight plans, compared side by side
Filter by annual limit, currency and benefit module and see the premium for each in about 15 seconds, before you speak to anyone.
- The insurer behind each plan, named on the card
- Annual limit, the number that decides a serious claim
- Deductible, the fastest lever on price
- Monthly and annual premium, side by side
What the quote engine does
- A priced quote in under 15 seconds: real premiums on screen, with no form to fill in and no callback to wait for.
- Pick the benefits you want: inpatient, outpatient, room and board, maternity, dental and optical, portability, direct billing, evacuation and repatriation.
- Priced in your currency: monthly and annual side by side.
- Annual limit on the front of the card: the number that decides whether a plan survives a serious claim, shown before you click.
- Set your own deductible: start at nil and move it up to see exactly what the premium does. It is the fastest lever on price.
- Choose your cover area: Singapore only, Asia Pacific, worldwide excluding the United States, or worldwide.
- Shortlist up to three plans: compare side by side, save, and come back to it.
- Real insurers, not a lead form: the panel is drawn from 25+ international insurers, and every card names the insurer behind the plan.
What moves your premium
- Cover area: including the United States raises the premium substantially against worldwide-excluding-US or Asia-only. Unless you spend significant time in the US, excluding it is the most effective way to cut cost.
- Age: pricing is heavily age-banded and the curve steepens after 50. Great Eastern's own published table more than triples between age 36 and age 56, and rises almost tenfold between 30 and 70.
- Deductible: choosing an annual excess lowers the premium, and it is the fastest single lever.
- Outpatient cover: adding GP visits, specialist consultations and diagnostics raises the base premium.
- Maternity: a maternity benefit adds cost and carries a waiting period that starts before conception.
- Underwriting method: full medical underwriting versus moratorium changes both price and certainty.
- Medical history: declared conditions may attract an exclusion or a premium loading.
These are the general drivers. The only number that matters is yours. Run a quote →
What a policy actually pays for
Inpatient care is the core of every plan. The rest is chosen, and the choosing is where the cost and the gaps both sit.
Usually covered
Add-on
Add-on
Usually covered
Add-on
Add-onWhat is covered, and what is not
Usually covered. Inpatient and day-patient treatment, meaning hospital accommodation, surgery, intensive care and specialist fees. Day surgery for procedures not requiring an overnight stay. Cancer care, covering diagnosis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A private room, which most plans cover as a minimum. Medical evacuation and repatriation, meaning transfer to appropriate care, or home. Diagnostics such as scans, pathology and imaging. And rehabilitation, time-limited after an inpatient episode.
Covered only if you add it. Outpatient consultations and GP visits. Maternity and newborn cover, with a waiting period. Dental and optical. Mental health treatment, increasingly included but with limits that vary widely. Chronic condition management. And critical illness, which is a separate lump-sum product rather than a medical insurance benefit.
Usually excluded. This is the part most guides skip, and it is the one that causes claim disputes. Conditions you had before the policy started, unless specifically accepted. Treatment that is cosmetic rather than medically necessary. Fertility treatment, on most standard plans. Experimental or unproven treatment. Injuries from professional sport or specified hazardous activities. Treatment sought primarily by travelling to another country for it. And costs above your annual benefit limit or outside your cover area.
Read the exclusions before you read the brochure. If an insurer's exclusion list is hard to find, that tells you something.
Pre-existing conditions, maternity and dependants
Pre-existing conditions, maternity and dependants account for most of the questions we field, and most of the expensive mistakes.
Pre-existing conditions
A pre-existing condition is any condition you had symptoms of, sought advice for, or received treatment for before the policy began. It does not have to have been formally diagnosed.
Under full medical underwriting you declare your history upfront and the insurer accepts it, excludes it, or applies a loading, so you know where you stand from day one. Under moratorium underwriting nothing is declared upfront: conditions from a defined look-back period are excluded, and may become eligible after a continuous run of time without symptoms, treatment or advice. Both windows vary by insurer, so check the wording.
Full underwriting gives certainty, moratorium gives a faster application. What matters is that you disclose honestly, because a non-disclosure discovered at claim stage can void the policy. If you have a history to place, local Integrated Shield plans are the weakest route: Great Eastern states GREAT SupremeHealth does not cover pre-existing conditions at all.
Maternity
Maternity cover is not automatic and cannot be added once you are pregnant. A waiting period runs from policy start before benefits are payable, so plan well ahead of trying to conceive.
The waiting period is typically 12 months. Cigna Global offers maternity on its Gold and Platinum levels only, available once the mother has been covered by the policy for 12 months or more, extending to 24 months depending on where treatment occurs. Allianz Care applies a 12 month waiting period on its Enhanced and Signature plans.
Antenatal care, delivery, complications of pregnancy and newborn cover from birth are separate things. Newborn cover from day one without fresh underwriting is the benefit worth checking hardest. See our maternity and family cover.
Dependants
Spouses and children on a Dependant Pass are, like you, outside MediShield Life. They need their own cover or to be added to your policy. Family plans are cheaper than separate individual policies, and children can often be added at any renewal. Older parents joining you in Singapore are a different question, because cover for seniors is underwritten differently and priced accordingly.
Cover that outlasts the posting
The differences between the three routes only become visible at the worst possible moment: a claim, a job change, or a relocation.
How to choose an insurer
Price is the easiest feature of an expat health insurance policy to compare and the least useful. These are the questions that decide whether a policy works when you need it.
- Is renewal guaranteed for life? Some plans reserve the right to decline renewal or re-underwrite you after a claim. That is the difference between insurance and a temporary arrangement.
- Does the insurer settle directly with Singapore hospitals? Direct settlement means you are not funding a five-figure bill and waiting for reimbursement. Ask which specific hospitals, not whether they have a network.
- How are pre-existing conditions handled? Full underwriting or moratorium, and what exactly the terms are.
- What happens if you leave Singapore? For international cover it should continue, subject to your cover area. For local plans it usually ends with your residency.
- How do premiums change with age? Ask for the age-banding structure, not just this year's price.
- Who handles a disputed claim? With an insurer directly, you do. With a broker, we do, and that is what we are here for.
Who is actually in this market
International insurers: Cigna Global, AXA Global Healthcare, Allianz Care and Bupa Global are the names you will encounter most often for portable cover. Singapore insurers: AIA, Prudential, Great Eastern, Income and HSBC Life all write health cover in Singapore, and Great Eastern's GREAT SupremeHealth is the most commonly cited foreigner-eligible Integrated Shield option. Eligibility, underwriting and whether cover survives a change of residency differ by insurer, so check those three before comparing price.
See your premium in 15 seconds. No form to fill in, no callback to wait for. Compare plans from 25+ international insurers, matched to what you actually need.
Get my quote →How to get covered
ExpatMedicare provides international health insurance quotes for expatriates in Singapore online, without a phone call. The quote needs three inputs: your age, the number of people to be covered, and your chosen cover area.
- Answer four questions: your age, who needs cover, where you want to be covered, and your budget. About 15 seconds.
- See real plans immediately: the quote engine prices you against 25+ international insurers and returns the plans that match, with premiums attached.
- Compare like for like: annual limit, outpatient, maternity, evacuation and direct billing, side by side.
- Complete underwriting: full disclosure or moratorium, depending on the plan. We will tell you which is likely to suit your history.
- Cover starts on the date you choose, and we stay involved for claims, admissions and renewals.
Get your personalised quote → or speak to an adviser on +852 5508 8017. Employers arranging cover for staff should start with employee benefits and business cover.
Independent, and paid the same whichever plan you pick
Twenty-five years placing expatriate cover, 25+ insurers on one panel, and no reason to steer you towards any of them.
Why ExpatMedicare
- Arranging international medical cover since 2001: a quarter of a century placing expatriate cover.
- 25+ international insurers on one panel: every quote names the insurer behind the plan.
- Independent: we are not tied to a single insurer, so we have no reason to steer you.
- Priced before you talk to anyone: see real premiums in about 15 seconds, with no form and no callback.
- We handle disputed claims: that is the part you cannot do alone, and it is what a broker is for.
Frequently asked questions
Also covering expat health insurance in Hong Kong and Thailand.
Sources
- 01Ministry of Health, MediShield Life
- 02Ministry of Health, subsidies for acute inpatient care
- 03Ministry of Health, revision of hospital subsidy for foreigners
- 04Ministry of Health, hospital bills and fee benchmarks
- 05Ministry of Health, MediShield Life premium and subsidy tables
- 06Ministry of Manpower, medical insurance for migrant workers
- 07Ministry of Manpower, medical insurance for S Pass holders
- 08CPF Board, who is exempted from receiving CPF contributions
- 09Great Eastern, GREAT SupremeHealth for non-Singaporeans
- 10Great Eastern, GREAT SupremeHealth benefit schedule and premium rates
- 11Cigna Global, optional benefits and maternity waiting periods
- 12Allianz Care, international health insurance with maternity cover
- 13WTW, 2026 Global Medical Trends Survey, Singapore
- 14Pacific Prime, Cost of International Health Insurance Report
This guide is general information about insurance products, not personal financial advice. Premiums, benefits, waiting periods, exclusions and underwriting vary by insurer and by plan, and are subject to underwriting. Hospital bill figures are published medians for 2023 discharges and are not a prediction of an individual bill. Always read the policy wording. Speak to a licensed adviser about your own circumstances before buying.