The cross-sector alliance between Singapore’s healthcare and insurance sectors, represented by the General Insurance Association Singapore (GIA Singapore), Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore) and Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS) have jointly announced a Call-for-Proposal (CFP) to develop an end-to-end health insurance claims platform to improve patient experience and enhance operational efficiency. This initiative aligns with the nation’s move towards a digital, innovation-driven economy that would bring wider benefits to Singaporeans.
The CFP will open from 15 March 2021, and close on 26 April 2021. Interested parties are required to express their interest and submit their clarifications to the nominated email address stated in the CFP document by 29 March 2021.
The integrated platform aims to bring the following benefits to patients, healthcare providers, and insurers:
- Convenient access to patient’s insurance policy details – Healthcare providers will be able to retrieve details of patient’s relevant policy coverage information for Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) and Group Hospital and Surgical Insurance (GH&S), to ascertain if admission deposit can be waived.
- Faster claims processing – Healthcare providers can submit claims digitally to the insurers on behalf of patients, and insurers can obtain necessary billing and medical data digitally from the healthcare providers.
- Seamless authorisation of data release – Patients will be able to authorise the release of relevant data, including medical records and insurance policy details, to insurers or healthcare providers, digitally through their Singpass app.
- Timelier exchange of data – Healthcare providers can provide timely bill information and updates of the patients’ status, including the length of hospitalisation stays, to both patients and insurers. This allows insurers to quickly provide updates on the estimated claimable amount.
The participating organisations for this pilot include KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore General Hospital (SGH), and The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited (GEL). The initiative is supported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Once developed, the integrated platform will be deployed as a live pilot with policyholders from the participating insurer being the first to gain access. The end objective is to scale the platform for nation-wide adoption.
Mr Ho Kai Weng, Chief Executive, GIA Singapore, said, “The demand for healthcare and insurance services are expected to exponentially increase alongside Singapore’s ageing population, with one in four reaching 65 years of age or older by 2030. This Call-for-Proposal aims to build a unified ecosystem to improve the patient experience by increasing interoperability between the healthcare and insurance industries as well as eliminating cost inefficiencies.”
Ms Pauline Lim, Executive Director, LIA Singapore, said, “Ensuring policyholders receive timely and quality support for their healthcare needs is the foremost priority for life insurers. This cross-sector pilot programme reflects the insurance industry’s commitment to leverage digitalisation to future-proof its ability to meet increased patient demand by enhancing the end-to-end hospitalisation experience.”
Mr Guai Eng Chun, Assistant Chief Executive, IHiS, said, “Traditionally, the insurance claims process for patient care has been largely paper-based due to the need for information exchanges between multiple systems by different healthcare institutions and insurers. This may take up to months and inconvenience patients. By bringing together healthcare and insurance institutions and facilitating a harmonised and secure data exchange, we look forward to playing an active role for public healthcare in co-developing an integrated ecosystem which will bring more convenience to patients and speed up the end-to-end claim process through this Call-for-Proposal.”
Mr Patrick Kok, Managing Director, Group Operations, Great Eastern said, “We are happy to be the insurer to support this industry pilot, which aligns very well with our focus on customer-centricity. The move towards an integrated platform will be a significant step towards providing a seamless healthcare-insurance claims journey for our customers. We look forward to the delivery of a better and more transparent experience, so that our customers can be fully aware and make informed healthcare decisions.”
Timelines for the CFP are as follows:
15 March 2021: CFP opens
29 March 2021: Interested parties must express their interest and submit their clarifications
26 April 2021: Deadline for final submissions
Providers interested to participate in the CFP can find out more information at: https://gia.org.sg
General Insurance Association, Singapore (GIA Singapore)
Established in 1966, the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) is the general insurance industry’s trade association whose membership comprises Ordinary Members licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to transact general insurance business in Singapore.
As a trade association, GIA works to make all aspects of insurance easier and more effective for consumers, agents and insurance companies in Singapore. It helps identify emerging trends and responds to issues affecting the general insurance industry and seeks to promote the overall growth and development of the sector in Singapore.
For more information: www.gia.org.sg
GIA Member Directory: https://gia.org.sg/consumers/about/member-directory.html
Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore)
Established in 1962, the Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore) is the not-for-profit trade body of life insurance product providers and life reinsurance providers based in Singapore and licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Vision and Mission
The vision of member companies is to provide individuals with peace of mind and to promote a society where every person is prepared for life’s changing cycles and for those situations unforeseen.
They are committed to being a progressive life insurance industry by collectively enhancing consumer understanding, promoting industry best practices, and through the association fostering a spirit of collaboration and mutual respect with government and business leaders.
Values underpinning the association and its members
Unified in our resolve to deliver innovative solutions where every individual’s needs are best met.
Professional in the way we conduct ourselves and in the counsel we give.
Ethical in ensuring our policyholders’ interests are managed with utmost integrity.
Fair in how we strive to provide favourable outcomes to both our policyholders and shareholders.
Open & honest in all that we do to build an environment of trust and transparency.
Proactive in the steps we take to give our people the skills and knowledge to provide sound solutions at all times.
For more information: https://www.lia.org.sg/
Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS)
Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS) is the technology agency for the public healthcare sector. A multi-award-winning healthcare IT leader, IHiS digitises, connects, and analyses Singapore's health ecosystem. Its ultimate aim is to improve the Singapore population's health and health administration by integrating intelligent, highly resilient, and cost effective technologies with process and people.
Transforming healthcare through smart technology, IHiS has garnered more than 80 awards for its innovations. It supports more than 50,000 healthcare users in Singapore’s health ecosystem through the application of clinical informatics, computer science, data science, mechatronics, standards based IT that enables information exchange and cross boundary workflows, analysis, statistical and machine learning techniques to discover insights.
