Private Health Insurance in Malaysia: Policy Options for a Public-Private Partnership
Main Article Content
Abstract
Private health insurance has become important in the funding of healthcare in Malaysia. However, there have been rising concerns over the role of the private sector in healthcare fnancing because of illegitimate and unethical practices. This paper addresses these issues by focusing on the operational aspects of private health insurance to examine whether there are differences in charges between the insured and non-insured patients in Malaysia. The fndings are based on an assessment of hospital bills of two groups of private hospitals. The fndings of the study show that there is no difference in charges between the insured and the non-insured patients. The fndings also show that the private sector has learned to work within the regulatory boundaries so as to be professional in the execution of their services. However, the study points to some informational problems faced by the insured. Although this is an exploratory study and the fndings may not enable a conclusive generalization of the practices of private hospitals in Malaysia, it is hoped that inferences can be made by policy makers so as to enable them to design sound and prudent policies on healthcare finance.
Downloads
Article Details
Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described is original, has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities at the institution where the work was carried out. Transfer of copyright to the University of Malaya becomes effective if and when the article is accepted for publication. The copyright covers the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline and online) or other reproductions of similar nature.
An author may self-archive the English language version of his/her article on his/her own website and his/her institutions repository; however he/she may not use the publishers PDF version which is posted on www.ijie.um.edu.my. Furthermore, the author may only post his/her version, provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link must be accompanied by the following text: The original publication is available at www.ijie.um.edu.my.
All articles published in this journal are protected by copyright, which covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and redistribute the article (e.g. as offprint), as well as all translation rights. No material published in this journal may be reproduced photographically or stored on microfilm, in electronic database, video disks, etc., without first obtaining written permission from the publishers. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations.
The copyright owners consent does not include copying for general distribution, promotion, new works, or resale. In these cases, specific written permission must first be obtained from the publishers.