KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s health care system is among the top three in the world, according to an article published by online portal, Medical Daily.com.
The portal said this is based on the Global Retirement Index for 2014 released by International Living last month that made a list of countries ranked according to the efficiency of their health care system and how well they make for retirement destinations.
In its article titled, “The top five countries in health care: low cost prescriptions and expertise make for happy, healthy citizens”, Malaysia’s public health care system is described to be just as good as its private system.
“Under the system, doctors’ visits cost US$16 (RM 50.80) and dental appointments cost US$9 (RM 28.60).”
Medical Daily.com noted that Malaysia’s per capita expenditure is actually lower than Costa Rica’s US$1,197 (RM 3799.30) , at only US$645 (RM 2047.23) per person.
And the highly affordable insurance premiums make for heavily reduced costs - a generally healthy man in his 50s should expect a yearly premium of US$400 (RM 1269.60) to US$1,000 (RM 3174.00), depending on the plan, the report said.
France takes the top spot because of its dual approach to health care has both privatised and publicly available options, which either requires patients to pay small, heavily subsidised amounts of money out-of-pocket or rely on the Social Security system to cover the costs.
Medical Daily.com said in France, the lines of communication between physicians and patients are extremely open and the doctors that deal directly with patients and encourage their free choice of health care providers.
The portal puts Uruguay at second place for having a health care system that is largely private but with a free public safety net.
Patients pay their doctors directly, according to a monthly plan that entitles them to everything from regular check-ups to major surgery.
Pre-existing conditions are also a non-issue for seniors, as people aged 60 and up seldom are turned away just because they wish to use the system for its purpose.
Source: New Straits Times