【Medical Insurance Premium Hikes】At least 23 medical insurance plans raised premiums, with increases up to 26% — one way to respond（Updated March 2023）

The above medical insurance premium increase levels depend on age, gender, plan tier and co-payment options. Divided into the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) and general medical insurance, the increases for VHIS have been relatively moderate. Among them, Bupa’s Flexible VHIS plan and FTLife’s “樂康保” medical protection plan saw the largest increases, reaching 10% to 11%, while other VHIS premium increases remained below double digits.

Notably, the VHIS was launched in April 2019 and is approaching its fourth year; initially only a few insurers raised premiums for related products, but from early 2022 to date a total of 10 VHIS products have had premium increases.

Among other medical insurance plans, China Life’s Overseas Prestige Medical Insurance Plan showed a more significant increase — for example, with the insured area set to Asia and Hong Kong and zero co-payment, the increase reached as high as 26.4%; other regions, ages and co-payment options under the same plan saw relatively moderate increases.

The main reason for increases in medical insurance premiums is medical inflation, such as higher private ward charges, increased surgical fees, rising prices for drugs or medical devices, greater demand for private healthcare due to an ageing population, or price hikes caused by an imbalance in supply and demand in private healthcare from an influx of non-local patients, etc.  

In addition, advances in medical technology have given rise to more treatment options and new drugs; however, early-stage pharmaceutical research and development requires substantial capital investment, which also drives up healthcare costs and may ultimately be passed on to consumers. Moreover, as medical technology progresses, some previously fatal diseases may become chronic conditions that require ongoing treatment and medication, further increasing overall healthcare costs.  

Even leaving medical inflation and technological progress aside, major insurers may adjust their medical insurance premiums based on the claims experience of their own products — for example, if one company experiences a year in which successful claims far exceed initial expectations, this can lead to a premium increase higher than the industry average. If you want to learn more about past premium increases, you may refer to 10Life's article comparing past medical insurance premium increases.

Some insurers have increased premiums while also enhancing coverage. Among the products that have recently gone up in price, for example Bupa’s Flexible Voluntary Health Insurance Plan, the benefit limits for 13 items — including ward and meals, miscellaneous expenses, anesthetist fees and operating theatre fees — have been raised. However, not every insurer has done so; for example, when Man Tong’s “Tax” Excellence Medical Plan and Blue Cross’s Zunyue Voluntary Health Insurance Plan raised their premiums, no simultaneous increases in coverage have been observed so far.

Lastly, increases in medical insurance premiums are very common. When consumers purchase medical insurance, they should not only consider the premium at the time of purchase, because even if they can afford it today, they must consider their ability to pay in the future. One way to cope with rising medical insurance premiums is to buy medical insurance with a deductible (also known as an excess). A deductible is the amount the policyholder must pay when making a claim to the insurer, and the remaining medical expenses are then borne by the insurer up to the policy limit, meaning both parties share the medical costs.  

Some consumers already have employer medical coverage that can cover basic hospitalisation expenses. By purchasing medical insurance with a deductible option as additional coverage, they can reduce premium outlays while maintaining their level of protection. For examples, see the VHIS insurance decoder, which compares the differences between having no deductible and having a deductible.  

Medical financing schemes are also currently popular in the market as a way to cope with rising medical premiums, but to put such schemes into practice, there are actually many practical challenges to overcome. In addition, we have also found that if VHIS plans can be flexibly combined, medical premiums can be reduced.  
 

Note:

1. The above premium information is updated to 16 February 2023 and does not include the premium levy collected by the Insurance Authority.
2. Article last updated: 8 March 2023.

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.