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The achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – the principle of access to high quality affordable healthcare for all people – has been a hallmark of health policy and system transformation since it was endorsed by world leaders in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Malaysia, long heralded as one of the best examples of Universal Health Coverage, established its tax-financed universal health system in 1957, inheriting the model from the British upon independence. Despite significant success and support from Malaysian citizens, the financial and programmatic sustainability of UHC in Malaysia is precarious due to the rising costs of healthcare, rapid increase in noncommunicable diseases, and an increasingly aging population. The COVID-19 pandemic also poses an additional test and threat to the resilience of the health system.
Health Insurance is a powerful mechanism of financial protection. While many governments have exploited public mechanisms for health insurance (termed social insurance), private insurance remains largely untapped as a health financing mechanism for the masses. In Malaysia, private health insurance covers approximately 22% of the population, but only 14% of all health expenditures. With rising medical inflation in Malaysia estimated at 13% compared to the Asia Pacific’s regional average estimate of 7%, the need for additional private health insurance coverage in Malaysia is strong.
In this webinar, we describe the landscape of innovative insurance models that are helping to bring affordable insurance to the masses. These models are powered by digital advances and innovative partnerships between traditional insurers, fintech, health-tech pharmaceuticals, non-profit organizations, and other entities. This multistakeholder approach entails partnerships along the insurance value chain. In Malaysia, there is significant opportunity for an ecosystem of private and public actors to reinforce UHC by adopting private insurance innovations to help bring greater financial protection to the masses.
About ACCESS Health International
ACCESS Health International is a non-profit think tank, advisory group, and implementation partner. It works to improve access to high quality and affordable healthcare, and to reduce health disparities by shaping the social and environmental determinants of health. It also conducts practical, evidence-based research, and cultivate partnerships to foster health innovation. ACCESS Health International establishes long term, in residence, country and regional programmes.
Speaker’s Profile
Sejal Mistry
Regional Director, Southeast Asia
ACCESS Health International
Sejal Mistry leads projects in innovative health financing, digital technology, and aging in Singapore and the broader Southeast Asia region. Sejal has over ten years experience in international health policy, health financing, and HIV/AIDS. Previously, she worked with the South Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and as a senior health policy and multilateral affairs advisor for the US Government with several agencies including the US State Department, US Health and Human Services, and the US National Institutes of Health.
Ian W. Porteous
Regional Coordinator
ACCESS Health International
With over 30 years of international sales, customer service and business development experience, Ian Porteous leads the ACCESS Health team in engaging with regionally based stakeholders including multilaterals and governments, academia and non-profit organizations as potential funders, partners and entities of interest for ACCESS Health. Ian’s extensive career prior to joining ACCESS Health includes many senior executive positions within the insurance and financial services sector.
Registration closing date: 10 December 2021, 6.00 p.m. (MY/SG Time)
Registration Fee:
MII Members: Complimentary
Non Members: RM 50
(USD 15)
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