KUALA LUMPUR: Private healthcare companies are mitigating eight per cent of the health inflation for outpatient bills between 2020 and last year, shielding patients from the brunt of escalating medical costs.
According to the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) Factbook 2024, despite an increase in average outpatient bills by approximately four per cent between 2020 and last year, it was significantly lower than the approximately 12 per cent true healthcare cost inflation.
This disparity, the report said, stemmed from concerted efforts by private hospitals to optimise processes and implement cost-containment measures.
"Cost-savings generated from these initiatives have successfully reduced the impact of medical inflation to patients by approximately 22 per cent," the factbook states.
Investments in technology and operational efficiencies, alongside subsidies, had also kept profit margins lean but sustainable.
Between 2015 and 2020, the country recorded an average of 5.3 per cent in out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
The report stated that this rate stood favourably against Singapore, Korea and Japan, underscoring the success of mitigation strategies despite financial pressures.
On Nov 14, APHM president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh refuted the widely-cited 12.5 per cent medical inflation rate for private hospitals, stating that it might not accurately reflect the actual rise in healthcare costs.
He said the data did not account for year-on-year inflation of identical items, but rather reflected a broader increase in healthcare expenses.
This was after Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said that new pricing structures were needed to control rising costs in private hospitals.
In October, Dzulkefly stated in the Dewan Rakyat that the rising cost of medical care in Malaysia was a concerning trend that highlighted significant challenges within the healthcare sector due to out-of-pocket payments and a lack of pre-paid or pooled health financing.