Private healthcare in Malaysia remains inaccessible for the vast majority of the public despite the country recently ranked first in a global healthcare survey.
The 2019 International Living Annual Global Retirement Index ranked Malaysia first in healthcare worldwide as its world-class healthcare services and sophisticated infrastructure are major pull factors for expatriates and medical tourists.
Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib said while private healthcare in Malaysia is relatively cheap for medical tourists, a majority of Malaysians are unable to afford the services.
“The reality is that for Malaysians, the costs remain prohibitive and high as the main way of paying for these services depends on out-of-pocket payments, which are unsustainable and lead to financial instability,” he siad.
He said the costs in the private sector are primarily financed through direct out-of-pocket payments from patients, followed by private insurance or employer-based group insurance.
Coupled with a relatively low health insurance penetration rate of about 30%, the reality is that private healthcare remains inaccessible for most Malaysians.
Azrul said the perceived expensiveness of health insurance and coverage is the main factor holding back penetration in Malaysia.
“People perceive insurance as a whole to be too expensive, especially if you are in the below 40% and the lower end of the middle 40% income groups, which is a misconception,” he said.
“People are burdened by existing monthly expenditures related to education, property and transportation. Insurance is almost considered a luxury.”
He added that there is also complacency among the younger generations who avoid taking up insurance because they believe themselves to be young and healthy.
The situation is resulting in a “financial catastrophe” for many patients, particularly those facing cancer and other chronic diseases, he said.
Meanwhile, the nationwide focus on capitalising on the growing medical tourism market is creating a disparity in the availability of healthcare infrastructure across the country.
Azrul said Malaysia is ranked eight worldwide for medical tourism with a market estimated at US$290 million (RM1.18 billion) today and is predicted to grow around 30% annually over the next six years to reach US$3.5 billion in 2024.
He said both the private and public sectors are looking to capitalise on this growing demand, creating an imbalance in the availability of healthcare services throughout the country.
“The negative outcome from chasing medical tourism money is that more private medical facilities are being built in Peninsular Malaysia, specifically on the west coast,” he said.
“This has created an imbalance and disparity in the availability of healthcare infrastructure (in Malaysia).”
According to the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council, close to a million registered foreign patients, comprising expatriates, tourists, business travellers and migrants, receive treatment in Malaysia per year.
Azrul said the use of English as the main medium of communication, coupled with affordable and competitive costs for treatment makes Malaysia an attractive location for non-Malaysians.
“Depending on the procedure and specialty, when compared to similar costs in the US as a benchmark, patients save between 65%-80% on average (in Malaysia),” he said.
“This is extremely competitive considering that Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and India are the closest competitors.”
He noted that Singapore remains the preferred location for medical tourists in spite of providing the most expensive medical services in Asia.
For Malaysia, he said Penang is the main destination for medical tourism as 60% of the close to million non-Malaysians coming to the country annually for treatment head to the Northwestern state.
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