I WRITE to express my deep concern and outrage over the exorbitant increases in medical insurance premiums imposed by insurance companies recently.
In my own experience, a half-yearly premium that usually cost around RM1,300 has ridiculously ballooned nearly five-fold.
Citing the rising cost of medical services as the standard justification, insurers are pricing ordinary Malaysians out of basic health security.
First, this gradual yet steep escalation will inevitably lead to a high attrition rate among policyholders, particularly senior citizens.
Having dutifully paid premiums for decades during their working lives, retirees now find themselves facing astronomical sums at a time when they have no regular income.
Unable to afford these sudden hikes, many are forced to lapse their policies, effectively rendering decades of financial discipline and protection worthless overnight.
Second, the current system highlights a stark imbalance of power. Policy terms and conditions are drafted entirely by insurance companies, packed with complex clauses and loopholes that allow them to raise premiums almost at will.
Average consumers simply cannot afford to retain legal counsel to scrutinise these dense documents or challenge unfair practices, leaving policyholders entirely at the mercy of the insurers.
Third, this high attrition rate among older policyholders conveniently serves the financial interests of insurance companies.By pricing senior citizens out of coverage, insurers effectively purge their risk pools of the very demographic most likely to require medical care.
In doing so, they offload their responsibility to support ageing policyholders, shifting the burden of elder healthcare squarely onto the public health system.
Fourth, the government and Bank Negara Malaysia must examine this issue urgently. While regulatory guidelines reportedly aim to cap annual premium adjustments at around 8%, what policyholders are experiencing in reality feels like a complete circumvention of these policy intentions.
With hikes occurring multiple times or jumping by multiples rather than percentages, the drain on personal savings and retirement funds is immediate and devastating.
Finally, the government should mandate independent, comprehensive audits of all health insurers operating in the country.
Before allowing companies to claim that spiralling medical claims leave them no choice but to raise rates, the public deserves full transparency.
Are these companies truly struggling to meet their obligations or are they maintaining lucrative profit margins at the expense of vulnerable policyholders?
Healthcare security in old age should not be a privilege reserved only for the wealthy. It is time for regulatory authorities to intervene decisively, curb excessive premium hikes and ensure that insurance companies uphold their commitment to the citizens who supported them for decades.
I write with deep personal dissatisfaction. Twelve years ago, while battling cancer, my insurer refused to cover radiotherapy, labelling it an outpatient procedure.
Consequently, I had to navigate a lengthy, months-long process before securing admission as a patient at the National Cancer Institute in Putrajaya.
Yet, I continued to advocate for other patients facing similar struggles. Following subsequent government intervention, insurers were finally compelled to include radiotherapy under standard coverage, recognising it as essential medical treatment rather than an excluded outpatient expense.
Stephen Ng
