KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 18): Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) said it is working with relevant stakeholders to address public concerns on the co-payment feature for medical and health insurance and takaful (MHIT) products amid rising medical inflation.

The discussions involve regulators, hospitals and medical professionals, according to LIAM president Raymond Lew.

“As for now, LIAM is working with all the relevant stakeholders. We shall keep all of you informed once there is a latest development,” Lew told reporters at the Asian Institute of Insurance (Aii) rebranding ceremony.

While acknowledging the complexity of the issue, Lew said LIAM will continue to prioritise consumer needs and ensure that every Malaysian has access to affordable healthcare coverage.

“We want to identify a solution to address the concern of the general Malaysian public. So, hopefully everyone can afford an affordable premium [insurance protection],” he said.

In a nutshell, co-payment here refers to cost-sharing arrangements between a policyholder and an insurer or takaful operator (ITO). In short, a policyholder may pay part of the fee upon medical visit, in exchange for lower insurance premium.

The new feature, which ITOs must provide as an option beginning this month under recent guidelines by Bank Negara Malaysia, has been in the spotlight amid concerns that a policyholder may be weighed by high medical costs when taking into account the payment that needs to be made when actually having to seek costly treatment.

Thus, the ITOs are required to show a product disclosure sheet with at least one option that has a co-payment feature to the customers starting January 2025.

Speaking to reporters, Aii chief executive officer Paul Low said that the co-payment model will encourage patients to carefully consider the necessity of seeking medical treatment.

He cited neighbouring countries such as Singapore, the US and European nations, which have successfully implemented co-insurance systems to manage medical costs and premiums.

“Actually, this [co-payment] helps to manage the medical costs and also at the same time manage the premium for the policyholders," Low said.

He said that Aii plans to conduct public outreach programmes to educate the public about the benefits of the co-payment system and address any concerns. 

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