00:00Falling sick today can be costly.
00:02Not only in terms of time, but it can burn a hole in your pocket due to out-of-pocket
00:09expenses.
00:10Especially for those who rely on private healthcare as medical costs continue to escalate.
00:16This is driven by factors such as advancements in medical technology,
00:20unregulated hospital supplies and services,
00:23increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases,
00:26and an aging population that requires more complex and frequent care.
00:31In turn, rising hospital bills have caused insurance premiums to increase.
00:37For some, this prompts them to cancel policies and switch to public care,
00:42which adds pressure on public hospitals.
00:45To address this, Bank Negara Malaysia rolled out interim measures in 2024
00:49to limit annual medical premium increases, which will continue until 2026.
00:55However, Malaysia needs a sustainable solution beyond asking insurance and takaful operators or ITOs
01:02to freeze premium hikes or cross-subsidize profitable insurance segments
01:06to cover losses in MHIT products.
01:10Premiums also need to be repriced periodically to ensure claims can be paid
01:14as insurers fund payouts from the premiums collected.
01:18Cross-subsidization would unfairly increase prices for other non-medical products
01:23and adversely affect other policyholders, making it an unviable solution.
01:29If we do not address the root cause of medical cost inflation,
01:33insurers might find it difficult to continue offering MHIT products.
01:37To address these issues, the government introduced RESET,
01:41a national strategy with 11 initiatives to tackle medical cost inflation,
01:45especially in the private healthcare system.
01:49RESET, a collaborative effort bringing together the ministries of health and finance,
01:54BNM and the insurance and medical industries,
01:56focuses on improving accessibility, sustainability and patient outcomes.
02:02Economist Samirul Arif Othman says this is a chance for all stakeholders
02:07to finally work together instead of operating in silos.
02:12A key initiative under RESET is the development of a base MHIT product
02:16to tackle the steep medical inflation resulting in premium increases
02:21which has affected policyholders' affordability to pay.
02:24It is aimed to provide affordable and more sustainable coverage for Malaysians
02:29to access private healthcare services.
02:31The design and concept of the base MHIT announced by the government in January 2026
02:37with rollout plan for early 2027
02:40is aimed at complementing the public healthcare system.
02:43It is a voluntary plan offering an additional option
02:46for those who want access to private healthcare.
02:49Overall, this is a complex problem.
02:52We need solutions that tackle the root cause of rising hospital bills,
02:56not merely bank aids.
02:57Fixing Malaysia's private healthcare requires more than just policy tweaks.
03:03Hospitals, doctors, insurers and regulators need to work together
03:08to make private healthcare fairer, more transparent and sustainable.
03:13We need to RESET.
03:15Natasha Bust, FMT.
Comments