Bank Negara Malaysia will require insurers and takaful operators (ITO) to introduce cost-sharing features in their new medical and health insurance and takaful (MHIT) products starting in the third quarter of this year.
Deputy finance minister Lim Hui Ying said this is one of the measures to deal with the sudden increase in premiums or contributions for MHIT products, reported Bernama News Agency.
Ms Lim said that this measure, apart from encouraging more responsible use of healthcare services and lowering costs, could reduce false claims and improve the long-term sustainability of MHIT products.
She was replying to a question about increases in medical insurance premiums in a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat (lower house of Parliament) yesterday.
Ms Lim said that based on experience in several countries, MHIT products with cost-sharing features have lower insurance premiums or takaful contribution rates than products without cost-sharing features.
The central bank has also introduced requirements for ITO companies to ensure that MHIT products remain affordable via the establishment of an integrated claims database.
“The establishment of this integrated claims database can help the ITO to better identify and deal with the increase in the cost of medical claims.
“This database allows the ITO to compare the charges charged by different private hospitals as well as monitor the inflation of the annual claims of the entire ITO industry,” Ms Lim said.
The database would also pave the way for the publication of medical costs for common procedures to make it easier for users to make decisions about medical treatment and purchase insurance based on sufficient information, she added.