Healthcare Reimbursement in Singapore: Who Pays What Depending on Your Situation

Two levels coexist. The first is the local obligation, which depends on the pass: the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) requires the employer to provide insurance for an S Pass or a Work Permit, and leaves the choice for an Employment Pass. The second is French protection, which is voluntary and goes through the French scheme for a seconded employee, through the CFE or through international insurance.

Singapore does not appear in the CLEISS list (the French liaison centre for international social security) of bilateral social security agreements in force: the Assurance Maladie (French national health insurance) therefore does not automatically reimburse care received there. The local schemes (MediSave, MediShield Life, MediFund) remain reserved for citizens and permanent residents; the page on the Singapore healthcare system details the prices. The reimbursement guide helps you read a table of cover.

The MOM indicates that medical insurance is not a condition of employment for an Employment Pass holder: the employer may include it in the contract or encourage the employee to choose their own cover. The benefits are therefore those of the contract, to be examined before signing:

• the annual ceiling and sub-ceilings (hospitalisation, maternity, dental, optical);
• the network of establishments and direct billing, or advancing the costs;
• whether the spouse and children are included;
• waiting periods and declared medical history.

The guide on checking the partner network details the method, and expat health insurance tops up a company contract that is too light.

The employer buys and maintains insurance of at least 60,000 SGD a year for each S Pass or Work Permit holder, covering hospitalisation and day surgery, conditions unrelated to work included. They cannot pass the cost on to the employee. An employee contribution, limited to 10% of the fixed monthly salary for 6 months at most per 2-year employment period, must appear in the contract with their agreement (MOM).

The scheme evolved in two stages: ceiling raised to 60,000 SGD on 1 July 2023, with a split of 75% for the insurer and 25% for the employer beyond 15,000 SGD of claim; then, on 1 July 2025, standardised exclusion clauses, premiums by age band (50 and under, over 50) and direct payment of the hospital by the insurer. This cover targets hospitalisation: routine consultations, outpatient medicines, dental and optical care depend on possible extensions of the contract.

An employee sent to Singapore by their French employer remains enrolled in the French compulsory scheme, for lack of a bilateral agreement, for a period of 3 years renewable once only. The CLEISS specifies that the employee has a dual status: enrolled in France and in the local scheme when the latter is compulsory, with the corresponding contributions. A 2-year cooling-off period applies before a new secondment in the same country and for the same company; the employer carries out the formalities with the Urssaf international mobility department (the Urssaf is the French social security contributions collector).

The French scheme reimburses care received in Singapore within the limit of the benefits the employee would have received for the same care in France, which leaves a large out-of-pocket cost against local prices (specialist consultation of 221.62 to 288.78 SGD at the public hospital SGH). The CLEISS points out that the employer may take out supplementary private health insurance when local costs are high. The guide to seconded or expatriate details the documents to check.

• Spouse and children (Dependant’s Pass): the pass gives access to no public scheme. Family protection is arranged through the employer’s contract or a family policy; before treating the family as insured, the contract states which relatives are included. See expat family insurance.
• Self-employed, founder (EntrePass, ONE Pass, Letter of Consent): no employer insures the holder, who takes out the CFE or international insurance themselves. The CFE or private insurance comparison helps you choose.
• Student (Student’s Pass): public universities require their full-time students to join their hospitalisation and surgical insurance scheme, with no right to refuse, and this scheme reimburses care in Singapore’s public hospitals. See student insurance abroad.

Retiree: without MediShield Life, cover goes through the CFE or international insurance, whose premiums rise with age. The CFE offers a plan for retirees from €147 a month. See the page on retiring in Singapore and the guide on a retiree’s health insurance abroad.

CFE member: the CFE reimburses according to the country of care, applying reimbursement rates or flat amounts to actual bills. It offers JeunExpat (under 30, from €57 a month) and MondExpat (30 and over, from €87 a month). Enrolment requested within 3 months of expatriation takes effect without delay; otherwise, the waiting period is 3 months before age 45 and 6 months from age 45. Cover includes France for stays of less than 3 months. Reimbursements are detailed in the guide on CFE reimbursements and the CFE supplementary cover.

First-euro insurance: international health insurance reimburses actual costs within its ceilings, without going through a French tariff. The key points are the network, the annual ceiling, the coverage zone, maternity waiting periods and declared medical history. Expavy presents this cover on the expat health insurance page.

Tourist: France Diplomatie estimates hospitalisation at around €2,300 a day at the patient’s expense and reminds us that the embassy does not cover costs. It is imperative to hold an assistance contract or insurance covering all medical costs, surgery and hospitalisation included, as well as medical repatriation, failing which access to care may be compromised, including in a life-threatening emergency. Long-stay travel insurance suits extended stays.

Return to France: during a temporary stay, care received in France is reimbursed within the limit of French amounts, on presentation of invoices with cerfa form no. 12267 (service-public.fr). For a lasting move, Assurance Maladie rights open after 3 months of stable residence without activity, or as soon as an activity resumes. See insurance for returning to France and the guide on returning to France.

• Consultation: GP practices set their rates freely; a first specialist consultation at the public hospital SGH costs 221.62 to 288.78 SGD for a non-resident. Company and international insurance contracts specify the outpatient ceiling.
• Hospitalisation: this is the item covered by the MOM minimum of 60,000 SGD a year for an S Pass or a Work Permit. Other profiles check the ceiling, room and direct billing.
• Medicines: outside hospitalisation, they fall under the outpatient cover of the contract or the CFE.
• Dental: the Ministry of Health publishes benchmarks for private clinics: scaling from 35 to 60 SGD, polishing from 26 to 38 SGD, a simple filling from 65 to 160 SGD, extraction from 70 to 120 SGD (front tooth) or from 93 to 164 SGD (back tooth), crown from 750 to 1,400 SGD, root canal from 400 to 1,400 SGD depending on the tooth, complete removable denture from 500 to 818 SGD (MOH, benchmarks and not ceilings).
• Optical: the item most often offered as an option, with an annual ceiling for lenses and frames to be read in the table of cover.
• Maternity: a vaginal delivery costs a median of 10,815 SGD in private inpatient care (9,073 to 12,547 SGD) and 6,024 SGD in Class A of a public hospital (5,333 to 6,882 SGD), on citizens’ bills and before insurance (MOH). At the CFE, conception must follow enrolment and maternity benefits require 10 consecutive months of enrolment at the due date.