KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 18):  The MediAsas scheme, set to launch in January 2027, will provide a financial and healthcare safety net for Malaysia's middle-income group (M40), who are currently facing medical inflation.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the plan would provide protection to the M40 group through transparent cost control without hidden or excessive charges.

“Currently, a total of 340,000 private insurance policies have been surrendered by policyholders due to not being able to pay private premiums, and (more) people opt to go to government facilities; hence, the ministry comes up with this financial safety net.

“No citizen should fall into poverty just because he or she wants medical treatment; therefore, this Madani health financial protection comes forward by offering an affordable basic protection scheme,” he said in a post on the Facebook platform Sunday.

Dzulkefly said the MediAsas pilot project, held in the Klang Valley since the end of July, also allows policyholders to make flexible payments using the Employees Provident Fund's Akaun Sejahtera (Akaun Dua) ​​to ease their monthly burden.

As for vulnerable groups, he said the Tabung Bantuan Perubatan was increased by 50% to RM60 million from RM40 million, specifically to cover high-priced medical devices such as bone implants and heart stents.

He said the government allocated RM80 million to the Peduli Kesihatan scheme for the B40 Group (PeKa B40) programme.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance announced that MediAsas, which provides protection for individuals up to 85 years of age, will be offered as a separate (standalone) medical insurance and takaful protection plan that includes two product options, namely MediAsas Teras (standard plan) and MediAsas Flexi (standard-plus plan).

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