The Business Times
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THINKING ALOUD

A preventive approach is key to keeping health cover sustainable

In this interconnected web, employers, who are payers themselves, have to step up

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Genevieve Cua

Genevieve Cua

Published Tue, Jul 28, 2026 · 07:00 AM
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    • The negative cycle of high healthcare costs, an ageing population, overconsumption and overprescription afflicts both the individual and group health insurance markets.
    • The negative cycle of high healthcare costs, an ageing population, overconsumption and overprescription afflicts both the individual and group health insurance markets. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT

    [SINGAPORE] Insurers, policyholders and corporates wrestle with the big elephant that is medical-cost or medical-trend inflation. Is it possible to bring it to heel?

    The all-round impact is sobering. Policyholders with Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) feel the pinch in ever-rising premiums. Insurers grapple with soaring claims and a precarious book of business.

    Those with IP businesses teeter on razor-thin margins. Those with group medical portfolios are in an even more unenviable state.

    Thinking AloudHealthcareIntegrated Shield

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