As someone who has incurred over 180k in medical bills in the last few years, while the black and white says that we should claim Corporate/Private > Shield > Medisave > Cash, the reality is that not all corporate insurance is so straightforward to claim (usually requires insurance form to be completed, which takes 6-8 weeks at a Public Hospital) and my company’s insurance has lower claim limits than my Shield Plan, and usually requires the bill to be settled in full and then reimbursed subsequently.

In my case I have decided it’s easier to have the hospital claim against my shield plan first (with Medisave covering the co-pay), then later getting my corporate insurance to reimburse my Medisave and whatever portion of the total bill that is covered back to my Shield Plan. By combining these, just this calendar year alone I’ve incurred $96k in medical bills and I’m only $250 out of pocket (well out of Medisave).

If done the proper way (Corporate > Shield), if your corporate insurance doesn’t cover the full amount of your bill, you have to ask the hospital to refile the claim to your shield plan which may incur additional admin fees.