GOVT, ITOS AND PRIVATE HOSPITALS TO CONTRIBUTE RM60 MLN TO ACCELERATE HEALTH REFORMS -- BNM

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 -- The government, together with insurers and takaful operators (ITOs) and private hospitals, will contribute RM60 million to accelerate health reforms, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

The central bank said this includes implementing a diagnosis-related group payment model and publishing costs of common medical procedures for greater transparency.

“In addition, part of the fund will also be used to facilitate the development of a base medical and health insurance and takaful (MHIT) product that covers essential healthcare needs and facilitates policyholders aged 60 years old and above to switch to the new base product, once available,” it said in a statement. 

Moreover, the central bank said that BNM and its stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health (MOH), private hospitals, and ITOs, are committed to strengthening their collaborative efforts to contain medical cost inflation effectively.

It said these efforts include cost containment measures such as greater transparency in drug prices, advancement of digitalisation efforts to enable the sharing of electronic medical records that would reduce the need for repeated tests, and strategic purchasing by both public and private sectors to reduce cost. 

“Progress on these measures will be monitored to ensure the intended outcomes of reducing medical cost inflation are achieved. 

“This will also be important to transition to more sustainable provision of MHIT products going forward,” it said. 

BNM added that the progress would serve as a basis for its periodic review of these interim measures, which would be performed in tandem with the progress of the reforms in the healthcare ecosystem.

-- BERNAMA