What GHS covers
A Singapore Group Hospital and Surgical plan pays for:
- Inpatient hospitalisation — room and board, ICU, medical fees, surgeon fees, anaesthetist fees, hospital miscellaneous (medication, dressings, lab).
- Day surgery — same-day procedures not requiring overnight stay.
- Pre-hospitalisation outpatient — consultations and diagnostics in the period before hospital admission (typically 90 days).
- Post-hospitalisation outpatient — follow-up consultations and prescriptions after discharge (typically 90 days).
- Major organ transplant.
- Pre and post-natal care (where applicable to plan).
Ward-class tiering
Three main GHS tiers in Singapore:
Restructured ward A / B1
Singapore public-hospital wards (SGH, KKH, NUH, TTSH etc). MediShield Life sits at this level. Junior staff tier in most employer benefit structures.
Private hospital standard
Private hospitals (Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles, Raffles, etc) at standard ward levels. Mid-level employer benefit tier.
Private hospital deluxe
Private hospitals at deluxe ward levels including single-room. Senior and executive employer benefit tier.
Many employers offer all three tiers in a single GHS policy, with employees selecting based on band — "the higher of GHS A or GHS B-level" structure simplifies onboarding.
MediShield Life and IP co-ordination
The defining design question for any Singapore GHS plan is how it co-ordinates with MediShield Life and the Integrated Shield Plans many employees already hold:
As-charged co-ordination
GHS pays whatever the hospital charges, less what MediShield Life and IP have already paid. Result: employer pays the gap.
Benefit-schedule co-ordination
GHS pays up to its own per-item benefit limits, regardless of MediShield Life and IP. Result: predictable employer cost.
Deductible-and-coinsurance buy-down
GHS pays the IP's deductible and co-insurance, removing employee out-of-pocket. Result: IP feels "cashless" to employee; highest perceived value.
The third pattern is what senior employees value most — especially in talent-competitive sectors.
Pre/post-hospitalisation outpatient
Standard GHS includes pre- and post-hospitalisation outpatient consults at the panel clinics:
- Pre-hospitalisation — consultations, diagnostics and prescriptions in the 90 days before admission, paid retroactively after admission.
- Post-hospitalisation — follow-up consultations and prescriptions in the 90 days after discharge.
Some plans extend the windows (120, 180 days). Useful for chronic-condition follow-up where post-discharge care continues for months.
Layering with outpatient and dental
GHS is the base. Many employers layer:
- Group Extended Major Medical (EMM) — picks up amounts above the GHS per-item benefit limits, with employee co-insurance. Useful for high-cost cases.
- Group Outpatient (GP and Specialist) — panel-clinic outpatient consults outside the hospital event window.
- Group Dental — basic dental at panel clinics.
For employers competing for skilled talent, the standard mid-market structure is GHS (B-level) + EMM + outpatient + dental for all employees + dependent extension for senior bands.