GEORGE TOWN — Participants at a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing have called on the government to tighten regulations on private healthcare and medical insurance, citing excessive hospital charges, unfair billing practices, and medical negligence as pressing concerns.
Among the key proposals were stricter oversight of hospital fees, a cap on medical insurance premium hikes for long-term policyholders, and mandatory transparency in billing.
“The government must control the size of the private hospital market and medical tourism to ensure it does not drain resources from public healthcare,” said Dr Chee Heng Leng of the Citizens Health Initiative.
“When the proponents of market tourism argued for increasing medical tourism, they said that it will benefit our public system in various ways, but I have not seen that happen yet. Therefore, I hope the government can look into the ways and the mechanisms by which they can make this happen,” she added.
Retiree M. Murugappan urged Putrajaya to establish a panel of specialist doctors to provide independent expert opinions in cases of medical negligence. “This would make the playing field a little bit more level between patients and doctors,” he said.
University graduate Kelvinderjit Kaur called for written consent from insured patients for all tests and procedures, as well as patient verification of hospital bills before submission to insurers. “This is to certify that the tests and procedures were indeed done,” she stressed.
The hearing, the first of its kind by the PAC, brought together policyholders, NGOs, doctors, and takaful agents to discuss soaring private healthcare costs and insurance premium hikes.
Takaful consultant Hazwan Ariff Hassan argued that hospitals, not insurers, were responsible for rising medical costs. “We are just operators that accumulate funds and disburse them to hospitals. The real issue is the excessive charges,” he said, citing a case where a patient was billed over RM10,000 for a minor pus removal surgery.
Fee discrimination against insured patients also came under fire. Retiree Bajan Singh, 65, recounted a painful cataract surgery experience where he was subjected to additional procedures. “When I confronted the surgeon, he told me that since I was insured, extra procedures were performed. Where are the ethics?” he lamented.
Murugappan also shared how his mother lost her sight after a botched glaucoma surgery at a private hospital. When he sought an explanation from another specialist, he was allegedly told, “You know, we do 100 surgeries, definitely some will go wrong.”
Kelvinderjit raised concerns about hospitals billing insurance companies for tests that were never conducted. “When confronted, they admit the mistake but tell patients not to worry since insurance will cover it. What they don’t say is that this reduces a patient’s lifetime eligibility for claims,” she said.
The impact of medical tourism was also discussed, with Murugappan noting that lucrative private sector salaries have drawn specialists away from public hospitals, affecting service quality for ordinary Malaysians.
The PAC will hold its next public hearing on private hospital charges and medical insurance in Kuala Lumpur’s Parliament banquet hall on February 21.
Interested participants may register here.
PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin has urged members of the public to share their experiences, saying first-person accounts are crucial for Parliament to take action. — February 15, 2025