(Miri 20th) Miri MP Chiew Chin Woon stated in Parliament that our country already has a private healthcare system, including private hospitals and clinics, to take care of the people's health and help reduce congestion and the number of patients in the public healthcare system.
He said, however, that the high cost of treatment makes it difficult for most people to access medical services in the private healthcare system. Hence, there is a medical insurance system introduced by private medical insurance companies.
He pointed out that we now face a new challenge. In fact, I have received many complaints from people about the sharp rise in private insurance medical fees. For instance, I received three cases. The first case involves a 57-year-old complainant whose insurance fee increased from 2,300 ringgit last year to 3,400 ringgit this year. The second case is a 61-year-old consumer whose insurance fee rose from 225 ringgit per month to 1,020 ringgit per month, a fivefold increase. The third case, aged 65, saw an increase from an annual 3,300 ringgit to nearly 12,000 ringgit.
"I understand that from a business perspective, insurance companies need to increase premiums to cover the rising medical costs of the private healthcare system and when demand from insurance service users increases. However, it is very unfortunate for the users I mentioned earlier; they have paid for a lifetime of insurance but have to give up when they need it most in their later years because they can't afford it."
He said that when medical insurance rates rise to an unbearable level, the government should implement intervention and involvement policies. If this medical insurance becomes unaffordable for most people, especially the M40 group, and only the T20 group can access this private medicine, it will affect our country's healthcare system. The M40 group, which has been using medical services at private hospitals and clinics, will have to turn entirely to public hospitals, leading to more crowded government hospitals and clinics.
"During the 2025 fiscal budget debate at the Ministry of Finance committee level, I suggested to the Ministry of Finance that a non-profit-oriented public medical insurance system could be established, or collaborate with private insurance companies to provide the most affordable scope of medical insurance."
Chiew Chin Woon also suggested overcoming this challenge by empowering existing programs towards a public insurance healthcare system, such as the I-Lindung plan, a life and critical illness protection plan collaborated by the EPF and insurance companies; or the Social Security Organization's non-disaster work safety scheme (SKBBK), which can provide protection for workers in disasters outside of work.