When selecting a medical coverage plan, Malaysians consider lifetime limits as a crucial factor. With over 10 insurance and takaful companies in Malaysia offering various medical coverage plans, the primary advantage of these plans is that there are no lifetime limits.
To help you choose and purchase a medical card that fits your budget, this article will provide a comprehensive guide. Continue reading to gain more knowledge about the benefits of these plans compared to other types of medical cards like annual and lifetime limit cards.
Having a medical card can offer health insurance/Takaful coverage for medical expenses related to illness or accidents. This includes fees for hospital admission, room and board, diagnostic tests, and post-hospitalization treatments such as outpatient physiotherapy, second medical opinions, and home nursing care in both public and private hospitals. With a medical card, you can avoid the financial burden of paying medical bills and have peace of mind knowing you are covered.
Here are some reasons why having a medical card is important in Malaysia:
A lifetime limit refers to the maximum payout that can be received under an insurance or Takaful plan throughout its entire duration. It is the point where the insurance or Takaful provider sets a cap on their coverage, and any expenses exceeding the limit must be covered by the insured. For instance, if your medical plan has a lifetime limit of RM 2,000,000, any claims surpassing this amount, such as RM 2,000,001 or beyond, will no longer be covered by the insurance provider.
On the other hand, a no-lifetime limit medical card does not have a maximum payout cap for the entire duration, making it the best medical card available. The primary advantage of a no-lifetime limit is that it gives you peace of mind by ensuring you can cover all your medical expenses in the future. However, it still includes an annual limit. At Takaful Malaysia, customers are our focus. Hence, we’ve decided to set our Medical Card to an unlimited lifetime limit. Just go to https://online.takaful-malaysia.com.my/medical-myClickMediCare to find out more.
On the other hand, an annual limit is the amount payable to an insured party within a year. Exceeding the annual limit before the year ends means covering medical treatments out-of-pocket for the rest of the year. However, the annual limit is renewable annually throughout a medical plan duration. The annual limit on the best health insurance cards can be as high as RM 2 million annually.
Different medical cards offer varying degrees of coverage. However, it’s important to choose a medical card in Malaysia that offers comprehensive coverage. A comprehensive medical plan covers a wide range of medical conditions and emergencies, including inpatient and outpatient treatments, surgical costs, hospitalization, second medical opinions, mental health, preventative measures such as screening and vaccination, and alternative medicine. While the extent of comprehensive coverage may differ based on your health needs and medical history, it’s advisable to opt for a medical card that covers a wider range of expenses.
Should you need to be hospitalised, your room and board expenses are covered by your medical card. Depending on the severity of your condition, you may be admitted to either an intensive care unit ward (ICU) or a high-dependency unit (HDU). The daily cost of ICU hospitalization is higher than that of HDU due to the more personalized care required by patients admitted there.
In addition to the ward type, each ward has four different room board categories: 4-bedded, double-bedded, single standard, and single deluxe. The type of room you will be assigned to during your hospitalization is determined by your medical card, which also specifies the maximum number of days covered annually. If you exceed this limit or choose to upgrade to a higher room category, you will need to pay the additional expenses out-of-pocket through co-insurance.
Therefore, you can choose the best value for your Room and Board according to your preference upon application.
Post-hospitalisation treatments like home nursing care, medications, physiotherapy, follow-up tests, treatments, and consultations are necessary for a full recovery. Therefore, the best medical card should cover post-hospitalisation expenses, allowing you to heal peacefully and recover quickly. The fixed coverage period for post-hospitalisation treatments ranges from 60-90 days among insurance providers, although a select few offer up to 120 days.
Each insurance/Takaful provider has a list of panel hospitals that facilitate treatment and other medical procedures. However, the panel hospitals’ varying facility regulations may affect your experience. For example, some panel hospitals offer cashless admission via an E-medical card, others accept a Guarantee Letter, and others demand a cash admission fee (deposit). For the record, some panel hospitals may have better facilities for specific medical procedures than others.
Convenience is key because you want an accessible panel hospital wherever you go in Malaysia, not just near your residence. Therefore, go through the list of the insurance provider’s panel hospitals and ensure you identify a hospital that checks all the boxes for your health needs before choosing the medical card. Although you can use a medical card in a government hospital, most panel hospitals are private.
The best medical card in Malaysia includes flexible benefits, including daily cash benefits on hospitalisation, priority admission, premium discounts, a high annual limit, cancer treatment coverage, and annual health screening. Therefore, take advantage of the flexibility element in the bonus benefits to curate a medical plan that best meets your needs.
The claim submission policies for a medical card can either be cashless or via reimbursement. A cashless claim is when the insurer pays the medical expenses directly to the hospital before treatment.
Therefore, the policyholder must submit a health insurance coverage form or a cashless card to the hospital admission team at a panel hospital. The hospital’s admission team then reaches out to the insurer to ensure that the policyholder’s insurance plan covers treatment before admitting them. Therefore, a cashless claim in Malaysia only works when the policyholder seeks treatment at a panel hospital.
On the other hand, a reimbursement policy is when the policyholder pays for treatment out-of-pocket at any hospital of choice and applies for a refund from the insurer. The policyholder must submit the hospital receipts and other relevant documents to receive the reimbursement.
Therefore, understanding the claims policy is significant in managing medical expenses. Consider consulting an agent or your insurer to understand the claim procedure on your insurance plan before seeking treatment.
When you are browsing the insurance/Takaful company website, you will find some of the terms that are not familiar. We list down all of the common terms that you will see:
NOW, while you are still healthy. Plus, the older you are, the higher the payment of premium/contribution will be.
If you are reading this article and looking for your first medical card, you can start by browsing the online medical card. Fact: An online medical card is typically cheaper than an agent-medical card.
Make sure you have a budget in mind too. Takaful myClick Medicare offers a medical card for as low as RM40 per month. You can get a free quotation here https://online.takaful-malaysia.com.my/medical-myClickMediCare
When considering the best medical care, it’s important to have a checklist that takes into account coverage limits, which illnesses are covered, any exclusions, policies regarding room and board, pre and post-hospitalisation services, duration limits, and any additional benefits. It’s worth noting that favourable terms can vary from person to person!
