PAC To Hold Five More Closed-door Proceedings On Insurance Hikes, Hospital Fees

By Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 (Bernama) -- The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will conduct five more closed proceedings this month regarding the increase in health insurance premiums, private hospital charges, and the impact on public health before preparing a comprehensive report for presentation during the parliamentary session in June.

PAC member Sim Tze Tzin said two public hearings and 12 closed proceedings have been conducted since February, involving various stakeholders such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

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“PAC will be calling several more stakeholders, including BNM (for the second time) and the Malaysian Medical Council after the festive season, aiming to improve recommendations,” he told Bernama.

Sim, who is also the Bayan Baru member of Parliament, said that a total of 17 proceedings and two public hearings have been held to gather feedback from the public affected by the uncontrollable price increases from private hospitals and insurance companies.

“In May, we will prepare a detailed and comprehensive report before presenting it to Parliament in June.

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“We hope this report can assist the government in formulating policies that benefit the people,” he said.

Meanwhile, the price display mandate for private clinics and hospitals will come into force on May 1 in line with the pricing transparency policy in healthcare services.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad was reported stating that this way, the charges for medications in insurance claims can be verified to ensure that the prices do not exceed the displayed prices and that medication charges are not arbitrarily increased.

Since last year, the insurance and takaful industry has attracted attention due to a sharp rise in medical premiums, reported to be between 40-70 per cent, following claims of high medical costs.

This issue has caught the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who has directed BNM and the Ministry of Health to make decisions regarding control mechanisms to ensure that premium increases are justified and do not burden the people.

Consequently, last December, BNM announced four interim measures to provide temporary support to address the impacts of insurance and medical takaful premium adjustments.

These include implementing premium adjustments through distribution for a minimum of three years until the end of 2026 and a temporary deferral for premium adjustments for policyholders aged 60 and above for one year from their policy anniversary.

-- BERNAMA