Understanding Cancer Treatment Costs | Icon Cancer Centre Singapore

We understand that cancer can be a very emotional time for you and your loved ones

We work with you to ensure you’re aware of any out-of-pocket expenses and make sure there are no surprises throughout your treatment.

We are committed to providing our patients with holistic and evidence-based care. We will take the time to talk through all aspects of your treatment plan and provide you with a detailed cost estimate before your first treatment.

The cost of treatment at Icon Cancer Centre depends on what type of cancer treatment you’re having and the likely cost of any tests or medications. All Icon specialists are MediSave and MediShield accredited and our team will guide you through your payment options, and assist you in claiming from MediSave, MediShield Life and other insurance plans, if you are eligible.

Paying for treatment at Icon

You will need to provide payment at the end of each visit to Icon Cancer Centre.

We will help you with claiming from MediSave, MediShield Life or your IP. Please do provide us with the following documentation:

Your Central Provident Fund (CPF) statement and insurance information (plan type and insurer)
A photocopy of your National Registration Identity Card (NRIC)
A photocopy of your MediSave account holders if it is not under your name
A completed copy of the Medical Claims Authorisation Form

Interest-free instalment plan

You can now opt to pay for your outpatient treatments via a six month interest-free instalment payment plan if you have a HSBC and Standard Chartered credit card. We hope that this new payment option will help to provide a more convenient payment option for you to access the cancer care you need. If you have any queries, please feel free to email ippenquiries@icon.team for more information on this payment option.

MediSave

MediSave is Singapore’s national medical savings scheme. It helps people allocate part of their income to pay for their, or their approved dependents’ expenses when hospitalised. A dependent may be a spouse, child, parent or grandparent. MediSave has set withdrawal limits, which will generally cover the majority of expenses incurred during treatment.

MediShield Life

MediShield Life is a health insurance plan for Singaporean citizens and permanent residents which helps to pay for significant hospital expenses and certain outpatient treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. There may be some out-of-pocket expenses incurred depending on your maximum claim limits; your care team will discuss these with you in full.

Integrated Shield Plan

A MediSave-approved private Integrated Shield Plan (IP), is an insurance plan that includes both MediShield Life and private insurance to give further coverage of your treatment costs. Withdrawal limits and any out-of-pocket costs will depend on your specific IP. Please check with your insurer to verify the withdrawal limit and co-payment cap for your IP. Our care team will also be able to assist you with any queries regarding your coverage.

At Icon Cancer Centre Singapore, we are pleased to share that our team of experienced oncologists are on the panels for six of the major insurance shield plan providers in Singapore, ensuring a seamless insurance claims process for your healthcare needs.

Insurance shield plans include:

Below are some frequently asked questions to address your queries on Integrated Shield Plans in Singapore. For more information on Integrated Shield Plans, please visit the Ministry of Health website.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced changes to the financing of cancer treatments based on the Cancer Drug List which indicates the drug used for a certain cancer type and its claim limit. For Integrated Shield Plans, this comes into effect from 1 April 2023.
For more information on the cancer drug list coverage and frequently asked questions, please visit MOH’s website.
If you have purchased an Integrated Shield Plan from an approved private insurer from the above list, a certain amount of your cancer treatment expenses will be covered in relation to the cancer drug list by MOH and the rider (if any) that is bought.
Please approach your insurer to verify the claim limit for your Integrated Shield Plan.
Please login to your CPF account using your Singpass to check if you have bought an Integrated Shield Plan.
1. Go to cpf.gov.sg
2. Login with SingPass
3. Click on “my cpf”
4. Next, click on “Healthcare” section
5. Scroll down and click on “Health Insurance” tab to view your coverage and premium details
Please contact your insurer to find out more about the policy details of your Integrated Shield Plan.
MediShield Life covers you for life, including your pre-existing conditions. This is the case even if a pre-existing condition is not covered under the Integrated Shield Plan.
There is a maximum coverage per month/treatment for the outpatient treatment for MediShield Life, whereas Integrated Shield Plans provide additional and enhanced coverage on top of MediShield Life.
Outpatient coverage varies for each insurer, please approach your insurer to check on the outpatient coverage for your Integrated Shield Plan.
Deductible
Deductible is the basic sum you must contribute to your bill before you make your claim. This is a fixed maximum sum, and if the bill is less than the deductible, the patient pays the full bill.
Co-insurance
The co-insurance is a percentage that is calculated on the total bill size. This means that for every bill, the patient must pay a percentage of the bill and the insurance pays the balance.
Co-payment
Co-payment is an additional component that a patient may have to pay. For riders, the co-payment is calculated as a percentage of the total bill size.
Typically, the co-payment for most co-pay riders is 5% of the bill.
Depending on your rider plan, most insurers have a co-payment cap. If the co-payment amount exceeds the co-payment cap, the patient only needs to pay up to the co-payment cap amount. The balance amount is covered by the insurer.
Claim limits
There are 2 types of limits for Integrated Shield Plans:
- Lifetime limit – the maximum amount you can claim throughout your life
- Policy year limit – the maximum amount, you can claim per policy year
Panel doctors
Insurers have their preferred doctors whom they have selected to be on their panel. Patients who visit panel doctors may enjoy enhanced coverage and higher claim limits. Icon Cancer Centre Singapore is on the panel for all six major Integrated Shield Plans.
1. Please inform our Icon staff that you would like to make a claim for your outpatient treatment with your Integrated Shield Plan.
2. Our staff will be able access the MOH portal with your NRIC number and check if you are covered under an Integrated Shield Plan.
3. If you are covered under an Integrated Shield Plan, we will need you to sign on the Medisave Claims Authorisation Form to consent and authorise Icon Cancer Centre to submit claims on your behalf for the Integrated Shield Plan as well as to withdraw from your MediSave balance, if required.
4. You will be required to produce a copy of your NRIC and /or the MediSave account holder’s NRIC, if the payment is not drawn from your own MediSave account for your treatment claims.
5. Icon Cancer Centre will then proceed to submit the claim for you.
6. Your private Insurer would process your claim. If there is any outstanding amount not covered by your insurance, it can be covered either by MediSave (up to prevailing limits), credit card payment (HSBC and Standard Chartered Credit Card cardholders can opt to pay via a 6-month interest-free plan) and/or cash payment.
7. The approved pay out from your private insurer and CPF will be paid to Icon Cancer Centre. We will then reimburse the payment amount to you, if the full amount of the claim has been paid in advance.
If you have any queries on your Integrated Shield Plans with private insurers, we have compiled a list of FAQs for each insurer. Please click on the name of the provider to access their FAQ list. Alternatively, please contact your insurance agent, email or call their customer service hotline.

For our foreign patients

International expatriate insurance plans

If you are an expatriate or non-Singaporean permanent resident or citizen and have an insurance plan that covers you internationally, please contact your insurer to obtain information regarding your medical coverage. With a Letter of Guarantee (or LoG), direct billing arrangements can be made with your insurer. Please feel free to speak with our administration staff if you have any queries.