It’s a perennial debate, but it has resurfaced in recent weeks: Should private insurers try to limit MediShield Life Integrated Plan policyholders to consulting only doctors who are on their designated panels? The policyholders face higher out-of-pocket expenses if they seek to consult doctors outside these panels.

There have been several letters in The Straits Times Forum pages, discussing this issue. The battlelines are demarcated clearly: The insurers hew closely to the recommendations of the 2016 Health Insurance Task Force to continue the practice of empanelment as a key cost management measure while doctors argue instead that the doctor-patient relationship should take precedence. Furthermore, the panel system unfairly restricts policyholders’ choice while also progressively tightening doctors’ reimbursements. This should be a matter of national interest as about 70 per cent of Singaporeans enrol into a MediShield Life Integrated Plan.