MOH has agreed to this for new riders. However, it has not mandated any change for the 1.1 million people who already have full riders - which effectively allows people to pay nothing for hospital bills - for their Integrated Shield Plans (IPs).

The MOH is giving insurers until April 1, 2019, to come up with new riders that include the co-payment and cap. At that point, no full riders for IPs can be sold.

To prevent people rushing out to buy full riders before then, anyone buying a rider from Thursday (March 8 ) has to switch to the new scheme by April 1, 2021 at the latest.