Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the central bank of the country, said it will focus on measures to address the long-term sustainability and affordability of private health and health insurance / Takaful (MHIT) coverage. increase.
BNM released “Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026” on January 24th, and since 2016, the increase in medical bills (11.6% per year) has increased the increase in medical insurance premiums / contributions (9.5% per year) in 2020. He points out that it is up to the year. The only exception is.
Combined with rising private health care costs in Malaysia, which is reported to be the highest in Southeast Asia, further pressure can be placed on hospital and surgical insurance / Takaful (HSIT) pricing and sustainability.
MHIT players will have to change product prices frequently to accommodate these rising costs, which will have a significant impact on the cost of premiums / contributions to existing policyholders and certificate holders. May give.
“These developments underscore the urgency of early intervention and structural reforms to stop rising inflation in health care costs,” BNM said.
Regulators aim to move forward with efforts to address these issues based on the three intended outcomes of cost sharing, cost control, and higher standards.
Cost sharing
First, BNM seeks measures that can lead to positive changes in behavior among actors in the private health care ecosystem.
BNM will work with relevant stakeholders to explore measures that can promote more responsible use among consumers, including the possibility of introducing more meaningful cost-sharing capabilities into HSIT covers. Based on BNM’s observations, cost-sharing features implemented in other countries effectively fine-tune aggressive consumer behavior by reducing “buffet syndrome” among policyholders. In Malaysia itself, based on a sample group of HSIT plans, BNM has confirmed that the cost sharing feature has reduced premiums / contributions by 19% to 68%.
Cost management
Second, BNM aims to support better cost control and transparency of MHIT covers by leveraging digital solutions. This is a step-by-step process, with the first step focusing on setting up a data protocol between the insurer and the Takaful operator. Ideally, this could be extended to standardize data protocols between hospitals.
First, we facilitate the collection and standardization of MHIT billing data through a centralized data exchange platform. It aims to enable industry-wide analysis of medical billing data, paving the way for both public disclosure of general medical procedure costs and implementation of minimal cost sharing levels.
BNM also advocates increased transparency for making informed health decisions about consumers’ desired healthcare providers and the rationality of costs incurred. This includes working with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to provide relevant information about general medical costs to the public. procedure. Similar efforts have been observed to be effective in Singapore, Australia and the United States.
Higher standards
Third, BNM establishes higher standards in business conduct and sales practices, including but not limited to: (Ii) Strengthen sales requirements based on the needs of MHIT products to reduce the risk of mis-selling. (Iii) Provide additional guidance on price revision practices to facilitate a more objective, structured and consistent price revision approach for the industry to move forward.
collaboration
Coordinating and collaborating with all stakeholders in the ecosystem, from payers, healthcare providers, managed care organizations, governments, regulators to consumers, to manage the long-term sustainability of health care coverage in Malaysia. Is required. Broader structural reforms and collaborative efforts led by MOH will be needed. To this end, BNM states that it is committed to working with MOH and other relevant stakeholders to support broader ecosystem reforms.
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