Which health insurance companies in Singapore cover mental health services?
Increased Awareness about Mental Health
For the past two years, there had been a higher demand for mental health support and services for almost all age groups. This may be caused by the struggles, changes, and adjustments brought about by the pandemic. With this, there has been a global increase in the spreading of awareness about mental health and its importance. This has also helped in slowly debunking the stigma about mental health and becoming more open in availing of mental health services such as counselling for people’s mental health needs.
Mental Health in Singapore
Mental health in Singapore has been given more awareness in the past years through seminars and programs in different settings such as schools, offices, and communities. It is vital for Singaporeans to be more informed about their options when it comes to mental health services. The next step after awareness is for them to know the costs of these services and assess if they have the capacity to avail of them. Understandably, there will be some financial barriers which are the reasons why some people choose not to proceed with these services despite knowing that they are in need of them.
Average Cost of Mental Health Services in Singapore
The average cost of a one-hour individual counselling session in Singapore is from S$150-180. There are some clinics or counsellors who give discounts if you plan to avail of packages such as committing to 10 sessions which can lower the rate to S$130 per session. Nowadays, there are also options for sessions through video, audio, or text messages instead of face-to-face. The rates for these sessions are slightly lower than sessions done in person. Clients can also opt to have sessions with senior professional counsellors at a higher price per session which can go up to S$ 230- 240 per session.
We can also say that there is a significant difference in the rates between public and private clinics. In public clinics, therapy sessions can range from S$40-80. In addition, some private clinics are giving discounts or subsidies to clients who cannot afford the rates because of their low income. We will discuss more of this in our next articles.
If we sum it up, counselling sessions per month (with the assumption that the client will just have 1 session per week) can range from S$600- 900 in private clinics while sessions in public clinics can range from S$ 180- 320 per month. These amounts are only for counselling sessions and additional costs such as emergency in-patient treatments or medications are excluded.
AFFORDABLE OPTIONS TO AVAIL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Our team called My Peaceful Place, is composed of carefully selected competent counsellors, psychologists, and life coaches based in Singapore. It is our advocacy as a group to spread awareness about the importance of mental health and provide information on how to easily access mental health services. In line with this mission, we created this article to help give information about the general cost of counselling sessions and some ways to avail of affordable mental health services.
We understand how costly counselling sessions can be for some so our team gathered data about payment options and support available to Singaporeans to afford these mental health services. We listed here the available government subsidies and private company insurance that offers some mental health coverage.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES WITH MENTAL HEALTH COVERAGE
MediShield Life
Mental Health Coverage:
- Individuals can utilise up to 35 days of psychiatric inpatient care per year, with a claim limit of up to S$100 per day. This applies to B2 or C wards in public hospitals but can be upgraded to ward classes above that with additional out-of-pocket costs.
Limitation:
- Outpatient treatment services are not included in this plan. However, since Singapore citizens and permanent residents are all covered by MediShield Life, they can choose to upgrade their Medishield Life health insurance plan by purchasing an Integrated Shield Plan. This allows them to make more claims for mental health treatments such as psychiatric hospitalisation, outpatient treatment, and diagnosis received before and after hospitalisation. The client can also be able to use B1 or A wards, or private hospitals but they still need to provide additional out-of-pocket costs.
MediSave
Mental Health Coverage:
- Under the Chronic Disease Management Programme that is available at public hospitals, Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs), polyclinics and private specialist clinics in Singapore, a client can utilize up to S$150 per day for daily hospital charges, subject to a maximum of S$ 5,000 a year for inpatient treatment services.
- For outpatient treatments, individuals can utilize up to S$500 per MediSave account per year which is still subject to a 15% co-payment by the patient. Under the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP), this service can be used for outpatient treatments for the following disorders:
- Schizophrenia
- Major depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Anxiety
- Dementia
PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WITH MENTAL HEALTH COVERAGE
Take note that these are also available for the Integrated Shield Plan where clients can upgrade from their MediShield Life plan. Also included here are their websites showing the details of these plans.
AIA Beyond Critical Care Insurance Plan
Mental Health Coverage:
- This plan includes a Mental Well-being Benefit where a client can get an additional 20% of the coverage amount (up to S$50,000 per claim) until age 75 for five prominent mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and Tourette syndrome (up to age 21).
- There is a limit of $50,000 per mental illness and $150,000 for all claims for mental illnesses by the AIA Beyond Critical Care or any policies issued by AIA.
Limitation: This policy is only applicable to those who have not been diagnosed with mental illnesses yet.
Mental Health Coverage: This company has three plans that include mental health coverage.
- The GREAT CareShield plan supports long-term disability including mental health conditions that cause the inability to perform any daily activity such as feeding or dressing oneself.
- The PayAssure Plan will cover some or all regular living expenses in the event of inability to work in a current occupation due to illness, mental condition or injury.
- With GREAT Family Care, a multi-generational Critical Illness term plan, you can add riders for family members to cover conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Limitation: Most of these are coverage for expenses when a person cannot continue with regular living expenses or disability caused by mental health conditions.
Singlife with Aviva (formerly Aviva MyShield)
Mental Health Coverage:
- This plan covers inpatient psychiatric treatment for up to 60 days per policy year (up to ‘as charged’, depending on the plan). This is after 10 months of continuous cover.
- For treatment within 10 months of continuous cover, coverage will be $500 per day, up to 35 days per policy year.
Limitation: Pre- and post-hospitalisation treatment which is given before or after inpatient psychiatric treatment is not covered.
HSBC Life (formerly AXA Shield Plan)
Mental Health Coverage:
- This plan covers inpatient psychiatric treatment up to $5,000, capped at 35 days per policy year, depending on your plan. The client will be reimbursed for daily Normal/HDU/ICU ward(s) and treatment charges incurred up to 35 days per Policy Year during the period the life assured is hospitalised to receive psychiatric treatment. This will be subject to the benefit limits stated in the benefits schedule for inpatient psychiatric treatment.
- There is also coverage of up to $5,000 per policy year for post-hospitalisation psychiatric treatment, within 200 days of hospital discharge.
Limitation: Pre-hospitalisation treatment which is given before inpatient psychiatric treatment is not covered. Also, treatments for mental, emotional, personality, nervous, physical, psychological, learning, educational, behavioural and psychiatric problems, disorders and developments are not covered except where expressly covered by the inpatient psychiatric treatment and post-hospitalisation psychiatric treatment under the additional benefits of the policy.
Additional Services for Mental Health: AXA has partnered with Naluri, a digital therapeutics company, to offer a digital health coaching program with a focus on mental well-being for their customers. AXA customers can enjoy exclusive access to a mental wellness program — Naluri Lite. This promotes mental and physical health through personalised and structured behavioural and psychological coaching. It is done with the help of features such as behavioural change tools, information and tips, and the option to sign up for personalised coaching by professionals via chat. These professionals include psychologists, dieticians, fitness coaches and more.
Mental Health Coverage:
- This plan covers inpatient psychiatric treatment up to $7,000 per policy year. It pays for psychiatric treatment provided to the insured while in the hospital by a registered medical practitioner qualified to provide that psychiatric treatment.
Limitation: Pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation treatments are not covered for treatment given before or after inpatient psychiatric treatment benefit.
Mental Health Coverage:
- This plan covers inpatient psychiatric treatment up to $4,000 per policy year. This amount varies depending on the type of plans and riders bought.
Limitation: This does not cover outpatient treatments and pre or post-hospitalization treatments.
MENTAL HEALTH INSURANCE FOR SPECIFIC GROUPS
There are also some case-specific insurance or services covering their mental health concerns. Here are the following:
Mental Health Coverage:
- This 3-year plan provides protection from early pregnancy up to the third policy year for mental health conditions like major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. It pays out 10 percent of the insured sum for psychotherapy treatment and covers other pregnancy conditions and treatments, as well as protection for the child from birth.
Limitation: This plan is aimed at providing mental health support specifically for expectant mothers rather than the general population.
Chubb Work From Home Insurance (Group Insurance)
Mental Health Coverage:
- Covers up to $500 per employee. This benefit can be used to pay for mental health or psychological counselling expenses of employees diagnosed with stress disorders caused or contributed to by working-from-home arrangements.
Limitation: This plan can only be given to groups or companies who are interested in this specific kind of service.
Mercer & Aviva’s Mental Wellness Plan (Group Insurance)
Mental Health Coverage:
- It includes coverage for employee mental health conditions, cost of approved medications, and access to a carefully selected panel of qualified mental health professionals. This new Mental Wellness Plan is available to employers that have a medical plan insured with Singlife.
Limitation: This plan can only be bought as a group or for companies. Employers can buy on behalf of their employees if they are already purchasing group insurance from Aviva.
It can be seen from our list that most insurance companies only cover inpatient services but there are a few which includes pre- and post-hospitalization treatments depending on the plan. Some cover outpatient services but with additional costs or premiums added to the client’s insurance. We hope that this information and list become a helpful guide when it comes to looking for affordable options for mental health services. If you are still looking for other options such as specific clinics offering subsidies, organizations offering free counselling services, and 24/7 hotlines for mental health, we are going to discuss them in our next article.
Sources:
Information about Integrated Shield Plan
Cost of Mental Health Services in Singapore
Mental Health Insurance Coverage in Singapore
Care Subsidies and Funds Explained
Universal Health Coverage in Singapore
Price you Pay for Mental Health
The Cost of Mental Health and Why You should GIve Importance to it
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