Survey Report on Health Insurance Issues

code blue has released a comprehensive 200-page document featuring anonymized feedback from a national survey involving 855 health insurance experts.

Details such as the names of insurance companies, takaful operators, third party administrators, and corporate clients mentioned by respondents have been removed from the report.

The responses are presented unedited, without any corrections to spelling or grammar, and explanations for medical terminology or acronyms have not been included.

Initially, the team expected only around 200 participants for the survey, as they anticipated that physicians might be hesitant to respond.

However, over 850 healthcare professionals from private hospitals across various specialties contributed, showcasing significant frustration and dissatisfaction regarding health insurance practices.

The survey was thorough, comprising 20 questions, some of which invited open-ended responses. Many participants voiced concerns about the ways insurance companies impact medical practices, often compromising patient safety and care quality.

This research marks the first time that the relationships between healthcare providers and insurance companies have been made publicly accessible.

Evidence suggests that the insurance strategy of “deny, delay, cancel” is increasingly common in Malaysia, resembling trends seen in the United States, especially as pressures on the insurance sector have heightened following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In contrast to the United States, Malaysia lacks robust regulations governing institutional health insurance payers.

code blue has reached out for feedback on these findings from several organizations, including the Life Insurance Institute of Malaysia, the General Insurance Institute of Malaysia, the Malaysian Takaful Association, the Ministry of Health, and Bank Negara Malaysia.

We aim for this report to assist healthcare professionals, the insurance sector, and policymakers in improving health insurance for the benefit of patients.

For convenience, four related articles have been included in this research series by code blue.

The 200-page report can be downloaded by completing the form below, after which the PDF will be automatically available for download.