KUALA LUMPUR: The new base medical and health insurance/takaful (MHIT) plan will enter its pilot phase by the end of July as authorities step up efforts to tackle rising medical costs, says Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
The Finance Minister II said the pilot programme, involving selected insurers, takaful operators and private hospitals in the Klang Valley, forms part of the government's RESET strategy introduced in June last year to address rising healthcare costs and private medical insurance premiums.
He said the base MHIT plan is expected to be rolled out nationwide in January 2027.
"The government introduced the RESET strategy as a comprehensive, targeted and high-impact framework to control rising healthcare costs and private medical insurance premiums," he said in response to a question from Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad (BN-Simpang Renggam) in Parliament on Tuesday (June 30).
Amir Hamzah said the strategy is overseen by the Joint Ministerial Committee on Private Healthcare Costs, comprising the Finance Ministry, Health Ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia and other stakeholders.
He said the committee has made "significant progress" since its establishment, with five key initiatives already implemented.
These include the publication of the white paper on MHIT in January 2026, the release of common treatment cost ranges at private hospitals to improve price transparency, the World Bank's medical inflation report in April, consumer tools to help Malaysians assess insurance needs and claims, and tax incentives for charitable funds set up by private hospitals.
He added that the base MHIT plan would be reinforced by the phased implementation of the Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) payment system, which aims to standardise hospital charges and allow fairer, centralised negotiations with private hospitals.
"This creates a transparent framework and benchmark to manage hospital charges while protecting consumers' interests," he said.
Responding to concerns from Hasni over reduced government spending, Amir Hamzah said the recent expenditure rationalisation would not affect core healthcare services.
He said the Finance Ministry had reduced the Health Ministry's operating expenditure adjustment to RM500mil, far below the RM3.1bil figure circulating on social media.
"The adjustment only involves non-critical operating expenditure. Core spending on healthcare services, medicines, salaries and on-call allowances remains unchanged," he said.
He added that the allocation for medicines has been increased to RM6.5bil this year, while more than 18,000 healthcare workers will continue to be recruited without any reduction.
Amir Hamzah also revealed that several private hospitals have already established charitable funds following the introduction of tax incentives announced last year.
He said the funds would help finance treatment for patients from the B40 income group at participating private hospitals.
He added that the plan is designed to be affordable, sustainable and easy to understand.
“Unlike many existing products, the plan will allow individuals with stable and controlled pre-existing medical conditions to obtain insurance or takaful coverage, subject to terms and conditions,” he said.
He added that the plan will also not be linked to investment-linked products, shielding policyholders from investment risks that can contribute to higher premiums.
"The wider risk pool and product design are intended to help control premium increases, particularly as policyholders grow older," he said.
