• Malaysia Health Insurance Information

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Healthcare system in Malaysia is under the purview of the country's Ministry of Health.  Overall Malaysians enjoy a really efficient and comprehensive health care system, which is essentially dominated by publicly run universal healthcare system as well as private healthcare providers.

Infant mortality rate -- a measurement to decide how well run a particular country's health care system is -- was an impressive 10, thus putting it on par with the modern western world.  Projected life expectancy from birth in 2005 is 74 years of age.

New doctors going into the workforce in the nation are required to serve three years in the public healthcare sector before they can run their own private practices or opt to join private hospitals.  This requirement is highly beneficial because the general population is assured of adequate supply of medical professionals and the fresh graduate doctors are placed in positions that can help them gain experience. 

There is no restriction on foreign doctors who wish to participate in Malaysia medical practice, especially those who come with higher qualifications and credentials.

 The Malaysian government appreciates and values the development of healthcare sector, and it is customary to put aside 5% of social sector development fund into public healthcare.  The major issues that the government has to grapple with are fast expanding and aging population. 

There are many ongoing programs in the pipeline and they include refurbishment of existing hospitals, addition and maintenance of new hospitals, building more polyclinics as well as stepping up to training and expansion of telehealth.  A number of reforms have been introduced to enhance the system and to draw in foreign investment.

 But the industry is not able to churn out enough qualified professionals, especially specialists who are experts in certain fields.  It is thus not uncommon for patients to travel to the larger cities in order to receive specialized medical care and treatment. 

The government is to be commended for its efforts to bring state of art equipment to other fringe cities but these exercises usually end in vain as shortage of qualified manpower has caused these machines to turn into white elephants.

Nowadays, privately funded hospitals are mushrooming in the big cities.  Such institutions would often boasts of highly qualified medical professionals plus modern and sophisticated medical equipment.  Not too long ago, many private businessmen would have hesitated to enter into Malaysia healthcare. 

This was largely driven by the perception that it would usually take very long time to recoup the investment.  But the appetite for quality healthcare has definitely expanded with the more affluent population and a lot of companies are interested again.  In addition to domestic demand, the popularity of Malaysia as a medical destination among foreign expatriates who flew in to receive treatment is another contributing factor.

 Learning from its experience with the Nipah virus outbreak in 1999, Ministry of Health has put together stringent procedures to better stand up to the next virus attacks.  As a result of this, Malaysia has come out relatively unscathed during the recent SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) crisis and it has also handled the H5N1 (bird flu) outbreak remarkably well in 2004.

 Malaysia has also come out with its own National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan (NIPPP), which details all forms of preparatory actions and response plans if the country is being struck by an influenza pandemic.  This NIPPP subscribes to a framework of comprehensive communication/collaborations among the various government agencies with non-governmental offices (NGOs) to make sure that resources can best be utilized at any point of such pandemic.

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