KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has called on private hospitals in Malaysia to adopt value-based health care to curb medical cost inflation and improve health outcomes.
Admitting that the country’s medical inflation rate of 12.6 per cent is high compared to the global average of 5.6 per cent, Dzulkefly urged private health care providers to shift from a pay-for-service model to a pay-for-outcome approach.
“I urge private health facilities, especially the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM), to consider this approach. As a minister, I want value-based health care — not pay-for-service but pay-for-outcome — to ensure payment effectiveness and health outcomes without fueling inflation due to uncontrolled procedure costs,” Dzulkefly said.
“If it is based on insurance, it is quite bebas, or what’s known as moral hazard,” Dzulkefly said in response to Kuala Nerus Dr Alias Razak’s question in Dewan Rakyat today.
“I am confident that through our collaboration and engagement with APHM, they understand the value-based health care concept that I advocate for. Ultimately, as we develop public-private partnerships, we will also rely on their facilities to provide services that the public sector cannot supply,” Dzulkefly said.
Opposition lawmaker Dr Alias from PAS asked about the government’s strategy to address medical cost inflation and whether an impact study had been conducted on copayments for medical health insurance and takaful (MHIT) products.
Starting September 1, insurance and takaful operators (ITOs) must offer at least one medical product with co-payment features, requiring a minimum of 5 per cent co-insurance and/ or an RM500 deductible per policy or certificate year. This applies to both new and renewed MHIT policies or certificates.
Dzulkefly requested for Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to clearly explain the policy to prevent people from abandoning private medical insurance and overburdening public health care facilities.
“I ask BNM to provide clear explanations. We want to ensure the policy does not burden the public or health facilities. If many people are uninsured, they will crowd public health care facilities,” Dzulkefly said.
