Latest news with #HealthandFinanceMinistries
The Star
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Healthcare Reset programme gaining traction
The Reset strategy aims to slow rising medical costs and introduce a more sustainable funding model. KUALA LUMPUR: The government's push to overhaul Malaysia's healthcare financing framework via the Reset programme is gaining traction, with the rollout of a Universal base medical and health insurance/takaful (MHIT) product expected in the second half of 2026. Spearheaded by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in collaboration with the Health and Finance Ministries – and supported by the World Bank – the Reset strategy aims to slow rising medical costs and introduce a more sustainable funding model. 'The base product has a deadline, which is that we're going to finalise the design (and conceptualisation of base MHIT product) this year,' said a spokesperson at a media workshop on the Reset Strategy by BNM and the Health Ministry yesterday. 'We're going to pilot it sometime towards the middle of next year. And then, we're ready for rollout by the end of next year. And the diagnosis-related group (DRG) system is a feature that will be incorporated within the base product design,' the spokesperson said. The DRG framework – widely used in private healthcare systems globally – assigns a fixed, bundled payment for treatment based on diagnosis, rather than billing each service separately. According to the spokesperson, it will be introduced in stages to gradually supplant the fee-for-service model currently driving medical inflation. On intended outcomes, the spokesperson pointed to medical cost inflation as a critical barometer of success. 'We expect some stabilisation in that rather than just continual, or steeper increases over time. So we should see that stabilised. That would be a key outcome measure. 'We are also concerned about policy as well. So we are looking at things like how we can also capture data like re-admission based on that to measure quality of care as well,' the spokesperson added.
New Straits Times
09-06-2025
- Health
- New Straits Times
APHM offers clinical data to support DRG system pricing rollout
KUALA LUMPUR: Member hospitals under the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) have offered to share clinical data essential for developing the Diagnostic-Related Group (DRG) pricing model. In a statement today, APHM said its member hospitals will provide the relevant data to the Health and Finance Ministries, as this foundational data is currently unavailable and poses significant challenges to the timely and effective implementation of the DRG system. "APHM is heartened to hear (Health Minister) Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad shared in his opening speech at the APHM International Healthcare Conference & Exhibition 2025 today that a basic medical and takaful health insurance product will be introduced this year, while the DRG will be rolled out in phases. "For the DRG or any DRG-type mechanism to work, accurate clinical data and a national electronic health record system are needed. "At present, this foundational data is not yet available, which presents significant challenges for timely and effective DRG implementation," it said. APHM said implementing the DRG system properly will take more than six months, as the data collection and analysis process is both complex and time-consuming. The association also advocates allocating sufficient time and resources to ensure that the DRG model is well conceptualised, thoroughly piloted, and effectively executed to bring long-term improvements to Malaysia's healthcare system. On April 18, Dzulkefly said the ministry plans to implement the DRG syste m in stages this year, starting with common illnesses. On April 21, APHM's president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said the DRG pricing model presents a major challenge for Malaysia, primarily due to the lack of a universal healthcare financing system. The DRG model is a billing system under which hospitals charge a fixed fee for treating specific illnesses or conditions, aimed at curbing medical inflation.
