The cost of medical treatment in Malaysia is projected to jump 16% next year, driven by a brain drain of healthcare professionals and increasing speciality drug prices, according to MBSB Research.

In its monthly sector report, the firm highlighted the exodus of local doctors, nurses, and specialists to higher-paying overseas markets as a key driver of rising costs.

"This labour shortage directly increases the cost of hiring and retaining talent in the private healthcare sector," it said, as reported by Berita Harian.

The report noted that globally, labour costs often account for more than half of hospital operating expenses.

Private hospital operators are now offering higher salaries to retain specialists who had previously left the public sector
Between 2020 and 2024, 440 professional staff from the Health Ministry (MOH) moved abroad, including five medical specialists, 54 medical officers, and 381 nurses, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zulkefly Ahmad told Parliament in September.

Rising prices of speciality drugs are another contributor to medical inflation.

High-value medicines for non-communicable diseases, including popular GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and obesity, have been affected by expensive Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. Local pharmaceutical manufacturers are facing margin pressures as a result.

The integration of new medical technology is also pushing hospital operating costs higher.

Major private hospitals, such as those under IHH Healthcare Bhd, could face additional cost pressures from both labour shortages and rising drug prices.

The government has said it will implement structural reforms to manage medical cost inflation and improve healthcare spending transparency.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan recently outlined the government's plans to roll out a basic 'Medical & Health Insurance/Takaful (MHIT)' product by the end of next year.

This will be designed to provide Malaysians with affordable protection against hospitalisation and select outpatient care, improve cost transparency and address structural pressures in the healthcare system.

https://says.com/my/news/medical-costs-in-m...sCuBg5WKmHWWELA

Gomen must subsidi now.

janji KKM RM1

Government hospital lah

News talking about Insurance.

Now you know why insurance companies are repricing?

Rokek say inflation still low only 1.2%

and yet ppl who pays rm1 still acts like their mother father punya hospital.

No such things, remember how the Covid strike gomen can give free jabs.

So Kkm 1rm now becomes Kkm 1.16rm?

Time to promote natural life.

Reduce medical intervention, when it's time it's time.

This post has been edited by iGamer: Nov 13 2025, 03:37 PM

penipu scammer,

without insurance, charge RM1k
with insurance, charge to insurance RM2k

Doctor salary 100k a month too low here, need to earn higher overseas

Duh, that's if a worldwide pandemic and government used funds to buy the vaccines lah

Pandemics don't happen every day

Stop sugar subsidy. Reduce tangkap basah budget.. Improve our gomen medical staff salaries

kekwa one alcohol wipe 20sen hospital charge RM2.
rising cost konon

Okay.

My med card....
Direct debit from CC...
My CC expiry many montj and replacement card also mossing never receive...
So never activate the card....
Somehow the insurance company still manage to deduct from the CC....

Medical inflation 10 times general infpation

Fuel by greed of benovelent doctors, the guardian angel of our life

That is magic