The disclosure that T20 patients are being treated at government hospitals is proof that increased private medical costs and insurance premiums are affecting the public healthcare sector, a government MP said.
PKR‘s Sim Tze Zin said he found the trend “extremely worrying” after Hospital Kuala Lumpur director Dr Harikrishna KR Nair was reported to have stated that there was a growing number of T20 and VIP patients seeking treatment at the hospital.
Harikrishna said the trend reflected the patients’ confidence in HKL’s quality care, and gave an assurance that the rising number of wealthy patients would not affect the low-income groups, New Straits Times reported.
Sim likened this to complaints made recently over investment-linked riders in insurance schemes.
Investment-linked riders are add-ons to investment-linked insurance policies that provide specific coverage for additional needs beyond the basic policy, like critical illness, medical expenses, or accidental death.
He said the problem stemmed from the “optimistic” profit projections insurance companies provided their policyholders. Many plans claim that policyholders can secure returns of 9% for 20 consecutive years.
But in reality, he said, the returns were much lower, leading to insufficient funds to maintain coverage, and insurance companies reducing coverage drastically.
The Bayan Baru MP said such a situation did not bode well for retirees in their 60s. who would need medical coverage.
“When you really need it, you can’t get it,” he said at a press conference at Parliament today.
Sim said Bank Negara Malaysia issued a circular in 2019 to monitor such investment-linked insurance schemes, but those who purchased similar policies before that were still impacted.
He urged the central bank to look for a solution for these cases.
“I hope Bank Negara will pay serious attention to this issue. A transparent mechanism should be put in place to ensure the public are not caught off guard when their premiums surge, but their coverage is reduced drastically,” he said.
He said failure to resolve this issue could lead to more wealthy patients seeking treatment at public hospitals.
