Importance of Medical and Health Insurance
Medical and Health insurance: How it protects you from health and financial risks.
No one plans to get sick or hurt, but most people need medical care at some point. Medical and Health insurance covers these costs and offers many other important benefits which will un-burden you from worries such as large hospital bills or medical charges.
No one plans to get sick or hurt, but most people need medical care at some point. Medical and Health insurance covers these costs and offers many other important benefits which will un-burden you from worries such as large hospital bills or medical charges.
- Health insurance covers essential health benefits critical to maintaining your health and treating illness and accidents
- Health insurance protects you from unexpected, high medical costs.
- You pay less for covered in-network health care, even before you meet your deductible.
- You get free preventive care, like vaccines, screenings, and some check-ups, even before you meet your deductible.
- Income protection safeguards your salary by replacing it should you become unable to work.
- Life insurance provides financially for your loved ones should you become unable to work. Having this type of insurance enables them to continue enjoying a comfortable lifestyle with minimum worry.
Protection from high medical costs.
Health insurance provides important financial protection in case you have a serious accident or sickness.
People without health coverage are exposed to these costs. This can sometimes lead people without coverage into deep debt or even into bankruptcy.
It’s easy to underestimate how much medical care can cost:
Health insurance provides important financial protection in case you have a serious accident or sickness.
People without health coverage are exposed to these costs. This can sometimes lead people without coverage into deep debt or even into bankruptcy.
It’s easy to underestimate how much medical care can cost:
- Fixing a broken leg. Medical costs for a broken bone can be higher than victims expect. Without medical insurance, the cost of non-surgical treatment for a broken leg can cost around $2,500 or more, while the cost of surgical treatment can be between $17,000 and $35,000 without insurance.
- The average cost of a 3-day hospital stay is around $15,000 to 45,000.
- Comprehensive cancer care can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The importance of having a medical card.
The primary function of a medical card is to pay for your hospital admissions, surgeries and medical treatments. Your medical card will take care of your medical bills, in return for the regular premium that you pay to the insurance. The amount you’ll pay is normally incomparable and a lot lower than what you’ll receive from your insurance. For example, with a premium of RM200 a month or RM2,400 a year, you’re entitled to claim up to RM1.5 million a year for your medical bills. The annual limit is about 625 times more than what you pay to your insurance for a year.
How your medical card helps finance the costs above depends on the plan that you choose. A hospitalization and surgical plan pays for your hospital admissions, surgeries and medical treatments.
How does it work?
Based on the function of a medical card, it’s clear as day that a medical card is important to ensure that you receive the medical care you need, without worrying about the costs.
It protects your savings.
Perhaps, you think that you don’t really need a medical card because you already have a sizable amount of savings. But do you really want to spend your savings on your medical bills? Don’t you wish to spend the savings for life goals that you haven’t fulfilled?
Before you think your savings are enough, consider this data.
In 2019, Willis Towers Watson’s Global Medical Trends Survey Report revealed that Malaysia ranked second out of 13 countries in Asia in terms of medical costs. This year, Statista revealed that Malaysia’s gross medical trend cost rate was approximately 12.55%, the second-highest in the Asia Pacific region. Simply put, this data tells us that medical costs in Malaysia are expensive. Today the costs is soaring even higher based on medical inflation. Will your savings still be enough for your future medical use?
Private hospitals vs government hospitals in Malaysia.
You may also think that you don’t really need a medical card because you can just go to government hospitals. For many of us, seeking treatments at government hospitals would be the most affordable option. It’s a great option because our government hospitals are some of the world’s best! In fact, based on the 2019 International Living Annual Global Retirement Index, Malaysia ranked first in the world’s best healthcare category for its world-class healthcare services and sophisticated infrastructure. Besides, we can seek treatments at government hospitals without worrying too much about the costs as our public healthcare is heavily subsidized.
But the major downside is arguably having to be on a usually long waiting list.
The question is: can you wait? Based on an online survey run by the Malay Mail in 2017, 26% out of 358 respondents cited excessive waiting hours in government clinics or hospitals as the reason for them stopping treatment.
If your medical condition needs immediate attention, how will you manage it? Imagine that there are 1,000 people also needing immediate attention, what are the odds of you getting the first attention? In some cases, your doctor may suggest you seek treatment at a private hospital. But even if you can afford to wait for your turn, you still have to fork out quite an amount of money for some procedures in a government hospital. To give you an idea of how much you can expect to pay, below are the charges by private and government hospitals.
The primary function of a medical card is to pay for your hospital admissions, surgeries and medical treatments. Your medical card will take care of your medical bills, in return for the regular premium that you pay to the insurance. The amount you’ll pay is normally incomparable and a lot lower than what you’ll receive from your insurance. For example, with a premium of RM200 a month or RM2,400 a year, you’re entitled to claim up to RM1.5 million a year for your medical bills. The annual limit is about 625 times more than what you pay to your insurance for a year.
How your medical card helps finance the costs above depends on the plan that you choose. A hospitalization and surgical plan pays for your hospital admissions, surgeries and medical treatments.
How does it work?
Based on the function of a medical card, it’s clear as day that a medical card is important to ensure that you receive the medical care you need, without worrying about the costs.
It protects your savings.
Perhaps, you think that you don’t really need a medical card because you already have a sizable amount of savings. But do you really want to spend your savings on your medical bills? Don’t you wish to spend the savings for life goals that you haven’t fulfilled?
Before you think your savings are enough, consider this data.
In 2019, Willis Towers Watson’s Global Medical Trends Survey Report revealed that Malaysia ranked second out of 13 countries in Asia in terms of medical costs. This year, Statista revealed that Malaysia’s gross medical trend cost rate was approximately 12.55%, the second-highest in the Asia Pacific region. Simply put, this data tells us that medical costs in Malaysia are expensive. Today the costs is soaring even higher based on medical inflation. Will your savings still be enough for your future medical use?
Private hospitals vs government hospitals in Malaysia.
You may also think that you don’t really need a medical card because you can just go to government hospitals. For many of us, seeking treatments at government hospitals would be the most affordable option. It’s a great option because our government hospitals are some of the world’s best! In fact, based on the 2019 International Living Annual Global Retirement Index, Malaysia ranked first in the world’s best healthcare category for its world-class healthcare services and sophisticated infrastructure. Besides, we can seek treatments at government hospitals without worrying too much about the costs as our public healthcare is heavily subsidized.
But the major downside is arguably having to be on a usually long waiting list.
The question is: can you wait? Based on an online survey run by the Malay Mail in 2017, 26% out of 358 respondents cited excessive waiting hours in government clinics or hospitals as the reason for them stopping treatment.
If your medical condition needs immediate attention, how will you manage it? Imagine that there are 1,000 people also needing immediate attention, what are the odds of you getting the first attention? In some cases, your doctor may suggest you seek treatment at a private hospital. But even if you can afford to wait for your turn, you still have to fork out quite an amount of money for some procedures in a government hospital. To give you an idea of how much you can expect to pay, below are the charges by private and government hospitals.
Looking at the costs above, let’s ask you this again: Will your savings still be enough for your future medical use?
Don’t let medical bills wipe out your savings. Consider getting a medical card. For just a small amount of money every month, you can save your savings and have your medical needs taken care of.
Don’t let medical bills wipe out your savings. Consider getting a medical card. For just a small amount of money every month, you can save your savings and have your medical needs taken care of.
To supplement your employment medical insurance.
You may be gainfully employed and entitled to employee medical insurance. Consider yourself lucky as not all employees can enjoy the benefit you have. But how much does your employee medical insurance cover? Looking at the treatment charges by private hospitals above, will the coverage be sufficient should you be diagnosed with any of the medical conditions?
Your employment medical insurance may not be sufficient.
Usually, the annual limit of employment medical insurance is lower than that of a personal medical card. For instance, it is common for one to have RM1 million in annual limit with a personal medical card. In contrast, employment medical insurance can perhaps have at most RM300,000 an annual limit. You may not require up to RM1 million a year for your hospitalizations and treatments, but if you require more than what your employment medical insurance can cover, will you have enough to pay for the remaining costs?
Your employment medical insurance may not be sufficient.
Usually, the annual limit of employment medical insurance is lower than that of a personal medical card. For instance, it is common for one to have RM1 million in annual limit with a personal medical card. In contrast, employment medical insurance can perhaps have at most RM300,000 an annual limit. You may not require up to RM1 million a year for your hospitalizations and treatments, but if you require more than what your employment medical insurance can cover, will you have enough to pay for the remaining costs?
You can have both employment medical insurance and a personal medical card.
If you worry that your personal medical card will override your employment medical insurance, you can put your worry to rest. Neither insurance plan will override the other. In fact, they can work in tandem.
Illustration: Person A underwent knee replacement surgery. For her hospitalization, surgery and medication, she was charged RM50,000. As the annual limit of her employment medical insurance was RM40,000, she utilized her employment medical insurance first before covering the remaining RM10,000 with her personal medical card.
The illustration above shows that your personal medical card can step in to help you settle the costs when your employment medical insurance is fully utilized. Without a medical card, you will likely have to pay for your remaining medical bills out of your own pocket. You don’t want that to happen, especially if it eats up your precious savings.
We have laid out the importance of having a medical card. In sum, a medical card will help you protect your health and wealth. When you can get immediate medical attention without needing to fork out money, you have a better chance of recovering early without having to hurt your wallet.
If you worry that your personal medical card will override your employment medical insurance, you can put your worry to rest. Neither insurance plan will override the other. In fact, they can work in tandem.
Illustration: Person A underwent knee replacement surgery. For her hospitalization, surgery and medication, she was charged RM50,000. As the annual limit of her employment medical insurance was RM40,000, she utilized her employment medical insurance first before covering the remaining RM10,000 with her personal medical card.
The illustration above shows that your personal medical card can step in to help you settle the costs when your employment medical insurance is fully utilized. Without a medical card, you will likely have to pay for your remaining medical bills out of your own pocket. You don’t want that to happen, especially if it eats up your precious savings.
We have laid out the importance of having a medical card. In sum, a medical card will help you protect your health and wealth. When you can get immediate medical attention without needing to fork out money, you have a better chance of recovering early without having to hurt your wallet.