NST Leader: Seeking a cure for rising medical costs

New Straits Times

2 days ago

Here's a situation no one wants to face — medically or financially. A senior citizen went to a private hospital's emergency unit for a suspected heart attack and was quickly stabilised by the medical staff.
Doctors recommended admission to the Intensive Care Unit for two weeks at an astronomical cost of RM250,000. Stunned by the prospect of financial ruin, the patient responded: "If the heart attack doesn't kill me, the hospital bill will."
The senior citizen opted to be transferred to a government hospital. The bill for two weeks of treatment came to RM4,000, with another RM36,000 for three angioplasties.
The difference in cost highlights the stark choices an uninsured Malaysian must make to receive treatment. This is why the Health Ministry is pushing for Reset, an initiative to address medical inflation by amending the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 to allow for the Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) payment system.
The system will stabilise long-term insurance premiums and improve price transparency.
Rising private healthcare costs are often dismissed as a "problem for the rich". They are not.
Rising medical costs affect a massive portion of Malaysians, regardless of income level.
Medical inflation soared by 15 per cent in 2022, surpassing the regional average of 11 per cent, driven by rising medical technology costs and demographic pressures.
The government, to its credit, has not capitulated to private healthcare providers and insurers' assertions that tighter pricing regulations reduce quality and discourage innovation.
Instead, it is working on regulatory measures in healthcare financing and private health insurance that balance affordability, sustainability, and quality — while addressing the concerns of private providers and insurers.
Instead, it is working on regulatory measures in healthcare financing and private health insurance that balance affordability, sustainability and quality, while addressing the concerns of private providers and insurers.
The ministry is reviewing private hospital regulations to curb high, unregulated hospital supply costs, a major driver of claim expenses.
Bank Negara has ordered insurers to stagger premium increases to reduce the financial impact on policyholders. To be fair, medical costs are increasing because of rising cost of imported technologies and drugs, increased wages for healthcare professionals, overuse of medical services and the overprescribing of medicines.
The poor lifestyles choices of Malaysians don't help, either.