Health Ministry Mulls Creating Social Health Insurance Scheme

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry is mulling over plan to create a social health insurance scheme in a bid to ensure that private sector retirees will be insured against chronic diseases.

Its deputy minister, Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, said the scheme, which would be based on fair cost and risk sharing, would give a chance to all quarters to help each other, including those diagnosed with chronic diseases.

"Through the scheme, retirees will also be able to seek medical treatment at either private or government hospital or clinic," she said in reply to Senator Datuk Mohammed Najeeb Abdullah.

Mohammed Najeeb had wanted to know what was the government's plan in ensuring that private sector retirees would be covered by health insurance policies as those reaching the retirement age had higher risks of falling prey to chronic diseases which often required expensive treatment.

Rosnah said the premium for the proposed insurance scheme would involve contributions from the government, as well as both the employers and the employees.

However, she said the implementation of the scheme under the national health transformation system should be properly planned so that it would not burden the people.

-- BERNAMA

Source : http://finance.bernama.com/news.php?id=632823