THE Consumers Association of Penang has received an increasing number of complaints by consumers about an increase in health insurance premiums over the recent years.

Based on investigations, this is due to a hike in health and medical fees charged by private hospitals. The Health Ministry must investigate and take appropriate action.

According to the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Annual Report 2019, medical health insurance claims grew by 11.6% a year between 2016 and 2019.

The report said the “rising claims continue to outstrip the increase in premiums”, which grew by an average of 9.5% a year. Private healthcare cost is a major reason for the increase in health insurance premiums.

According to a global survey on medical trends in 2019, Malaysia ranked among the highest in terms of medical costs in Southeast Asia. It will come to a point where people can no longer afford to pay health insurances and existing policyholders may let theirs lapse.

The media reported that 80% of people are seeking treatment at public medical facilities, with the number of private hospital patients dropping by 70% to 80% last year.

Such a scenario will not benefit the nation, as private hospitals will see a decline in the number of patients as people can no longer afford treatment, while public hospitals will be overwhelmed.

The National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019 showed that only 22% of the population are covered by personal health insurance, while the majority depends on public hospitals.

The survey revealed that 81.4% of households used their current income to pay for health services, and only 8.1% used insurance reimbursement. Meanwhile, 10.9% have to borrow money from family and friends to pay for health services.

The Medical Procedures and Services Nomenclature and Relative Values serve as guidelines for private medical practitioners on their professional fees.

However, hospital supplies and services comprising items such as laboratory tests and imaging, medicine, nursing and medical equipment (e.g. medical ventilators, dialysis machines and eye microscopes) are not within the scope of this guidelines.

The BNM Annual Report 2019 said “insurance claims data analysed from 2013 to 2018 shows that hospital supplies and services form the largest component of claims costs and are among the main factors driving the increase in hospital charges”, and these constituted more than 50% of a medical bill on average.

We urge the Health Ministry to address this issue as it is a common complaint among consumers who seek treatment at private medical facilities.

In October 2019, the government allocated RM25 million for the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council in conjunction with Malaysia Year of Healthcare Travel 2020.

We believe that the soaring cost of treatment in private hospitals is due to promoting medical tourism. Priority should be given to improving our public healthcare system, not helping private hospitals maximise profits through treating foreign medical tourists. Providing good healthcare is incumbent upon the government in fulfilling the fundamental right to life of the people.

The way to bring down health costs in the long term is for us to prevent serious diseases.

NHMS 2019 identified diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension as the three leading non-communicable diseases (NCD) that people visit clinics or hospitals for treatment. About 8 million adults in the country have high cholesterol, 6.4 million have hypertension and 3.9 million have diabetes.

Through exercising, maintaining a balanced diet, stopping smoking, and avoiding alcohol, sugary food and drinks, the risks of NCDs can be drastically reduced, whereby the person can enjoy better health.

The government should use “sin tax” to promote a healthy lifestyle and upgrade public hospitals.

We call on the people to adopt a healthy lifestyle to avoid developing NCDs. Those who are contemplating acquiring health insurance should realise that it is a long-term commitment. A health insurance holder may have to pay more in tandem with his age at regular intervals. As such, he has to pay significantly more at a time when he has retired and limited savings.

We call on the government to set up a high-powered committee – with representations from the Health Ministry, medical professionals and non-governmental organisations – to study and make recommendations for the introduction of a universal healthcare system in Malaysia. – December 1, 2021.

* Mohideen Abdul Kader is Consumers Association of Penang president.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.