KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Health Ministry (MoH) will work together to control the rise in medical insurance premiums, ensuring that the increases remain reasonable and do not place an undue burden on the public or contribute to inflation.
Anwar explained that BNM, alongside the Finance Ministry and MoH, is currently assessing the situation and will issue clear guidelines to ensure that medical insurance and takaful providers, as well as insurers and takaful operators (ITO), consider various factors when adjusting premiums.
During a Dewan Rakyat session today, the prime minister acknowledged that the premium hikes were inevitable – citing the lower threshold in Malaysia, coupled with rising medical costs and expensive services, as reported by the insurance companies – but assured that BNM and MoH are working closely to ensure the increases are justifiable and manageable for the public.
Anwar was responding to a question from Suhaizan Kaiat (Pulai-PH), who inquired about the government’s plan to address the 40 to 70% rise in medical insurance premiums and the 12.6% inflation rate in medical costs in 2023, which was more than twice the global average of 5.6%. – December 10, 2024