Insurer panels by the numbers: what the SMA data says about IP panels

General information, not financial or legal advice. Sources are listed at the end.

If you're a specialist in private practice, you've probably had this conversation. A patient wants to see you. Then they check their Integrated Shield plan, find you're not on their insurer's panel, and book someone else.

Most of us have a feel for how often that happens. I wanted the actual numbers, so I went back to the source: the Singapore Medical Association's own survey and reporting on IP panels.

What the SMA survey found

In late 2020, the SMA surveyed 333 private specialists about Integrated Shield Plan providers. Three findings stood out.

1. Panel coverage was patchy. Depending on the insurer, between 12% and 39% of the specialists surveyed were on that insurer's panel.

2. Patients were walking. 53% of specialists said more than a quarter of their patients had gone elsewhere because the specialist wasn't on the patient's panel.

3. Referrals were getting harder. 57% said they had been unable to refer a patient to an appropriate panel specialist because the choice was too limited.

One honest caveat: the survey's author flags possible selection bias. Doctors who feel strongly about panels may have been more likely to answer. So treat these as a strong signal, not a census.

Has it improved since?

Partly. When panels began, each one held 200 to 300 private specialists, roughly a fifth of all private specialists. In 2022, insurers committed to at least 500 specialists per panel.

That's a commitment, not a measured result. And even a bigger panel is still a list that someone else decides you're on.

What this means for your practice

Panels are a question, not a wall. If you're not on a panel you want, keep asking. It's worth it.

But a practice that depends on panels and referrals for most of its new patients has a ceiling it doesn't control. I call it the Referral Ceiling. The way past it isn't more advertising. It's a second front door: a way for patients to find you and book you directly, built inside MOH's advertising rules.

If you want to see what that could look like for your practice, book a Rainmaker Call at apply.theleverageadvantage.com/application. Every caller gets a free one-page Second Front Door map within 2 working days. No patient numbers promised, because nobody honest can promise them.

Sources: SMA survey on IP providers, SMA News, April 2021 (333 specialists, fieldwork 18 Sep to 2 Oct 2020); "Implementation of IP Panels: Has It Improved?", SMA News, June 2023.