OCTOBER , 2022 | THE HEALTH

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Making an informed decision Health and medical research provide a bigger picture of public health status , which is key for effective health management and intervention

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Sepsis with heart failure : A medical emergency If a patient with sepsis develops heart failure and does not receive timely treatment , the outcome can be devastating

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Assisting individuals in crisis Good and effective psychological first aid is like effective and timely medical first aid and can save lives

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Why sleep is important Lack of sleep can lead to other medical conditions such as weakening of our immune system , increasing the blood sugar level in our system , and blocking of coronary arteries

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Eating your way to good health What we eat , or rather what we don ’ t , is key to remaining healthy

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Free diving anyone ? Free diving can increase the strength of your body , help develop muscles and increase endurance and vitality

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The liver-brain axis Take good care of your liver as it can influence brain function

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• Dr Noor Hisham honoured for contributions to surgery

• Sweden ’ s Svante Paabo wins 2022 Nobel Prize in Medicine

| The Health says ... |

But do all stakeholders in the industry support this ? The insurance industry , for one , doesn ’ t seem to , although it can benefit if there are fewer claims from policyholders .

Why do we say insurers do not support preventive healthcare measures ? Just ask the hospitals . They discourage hospitals from taking preventative measures for a policyholder who is hospitalised . Why ?

It ’ s because they will reject a claim if the treatment is deemed unnecessary , even if it is designed to prevent the illness from worsening or leading to other illnesses .

It is well known that many insurers will go to great lengths to deny policyholders a medical claim . There have been numerous complaints of insurers not fully compensating hospitalised policyholders .

Interestingly , they will even overrule doctors on the treatment or medication required for patients . And mind you , the decision to reject a claim is usually made by non-medical staff hired by the insurance companies .

There is a need for insurance companies to clean up their act . They should hire professionals or doctors who can make informed decisions when processing medical claims .

Last year , insurers were allowed to impose a hefty 30 per cent increase in medical premiums . It caused many policyholders hardship because it was financially difficult for them during the pandemic .

Yet Bank Negara saw it fit to allow this re-pricing and didn ’ t bother to address the numerous complaints from consumer groups and policyholders . There must be transparency in the re-pricing of premiums .

Are insurance companies only interested in increasing their profits ? After all , general insurance and takaful companies recorded a higher operating profit of RM1.8 billion in the first half of 2021 compared to 2020 . So were the increased premiums justified ?

Ironically , Bank Negara had said in its annual report that it required insurers and takaful operators to “ implement re-pricing exercises objectively and fairly , to be based on actual past claims experience and expectations of future claims experience that are reasonable and supportable ”. Was this the case in last year ’ s re-pricing ?

Insurance is a financial safety net for policyholders in times of uncertainty . Insurers must not take advantage and reap profits at the expense of policyholders .

It ’ s akin to killing the goose that lays the golden egg .