Social health insurance ensures sustainable healthcare, say experts

Free Malaysia Today

The scheme would require premium contributions from the government, employers and workers.  Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/11/28/social-health-insurance-ensures-sustainable-healthcare-say-experts/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6 Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #Healthcare #Insurance #Medical

Transcript

00:00 For many around the world, medical bills lead to sleepless nights.

00:05 Quality healthcare in this day and age can cost a bomb.

00:09 Malaysians, however, are luckier than most because of our public healthcare system.

00:14 A visit to a GP at a public healthcare facility costs just one ringgit.

00:20 Seeing a specialist only costs five ringgit.

00:23 And if you're a senior citizen, these paltry charges are waived.

00:27 However, experts say with the population growing, providing quality healthcare at such low costs is unsustainable.

00:35 So what's the way forward?

00:37 One idea is a social health insurance scheme which would see employees contribute a small portion of their salaries to a fund similar to the EPF.

00:46 Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yee, a proponent of this idea, says the scheme can contribute up to 32 billion ringgit a year towards public health.

00:55 Traditionally, healthcare was always given the second largest allocation in the budget.

01:00 In the 2024 budget, it was given 4.89 billion ringgit.

01:05 But it is nowhere near the 5% of the GDP which was proposed in the Health White Paper.

01:11 Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy CEO Azrul Khalib also believes social health insurance is the way forward.

01:18 It would begin to address the issue by co-sharing the burden and responsibility of financing the healthcare system.

01:24 It also has the potential to stabilise public subsidisation and allow space for cost containment while maintaining access and quality for essential services.

01:34 And we wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel.

01:37 Countries such as South Korea and Taiwan have implemented similar schemes.

01:41 Malaysian Medical Association President Dr Azizan Abdulaziz says a comprehensive study on the idea needs to be carried out first.

01:50 We need to take into consideration all income groups as well as those who are unemployed.

01:57 If we decide to take this route, it needs to be fair to all.

02:02 Malaysians who spoke to FMT2 were of two minds about the proposal.

02:06 Nicole Omar, who is seeking treatment for heart disease, says she would be willing to contribute 10% of her salary towards such a scheme.

02:14 Yeah, because not everybody can afford health insurance, like their own health insurance. So I feel like that's okay.

02:23 Others, like Cheong Pui Fan, are not so keen.

02:26 Mine is a long-term disease, so it won't cure at a certain time of period.

02:33 So it requires my whole life, so I don't think it's fair for those critical illness.

02:38 The social health insurance scheme is just one idea to ensure the sustainability of the public health care system.

02:45 What is certain is that the clock is ticking and more discussions on the way forward is needed.

02:50 Natasha Bust, Anamirah Huda, FMT News.

02:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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