PETALING JAYA: With Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings depleting and a society that is fast aging, the government must introduce a health insurance scheme for retirees, says former Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr N Ganabaskaran.
He said the time was ripe now for the government to revive discussions on such a plan, first mooted 25 years ago but shelved.
“The government must reconsider the proposed plan since the EPF savings of retirees are depleting due to withdrawals during their old age.
“There is a pressing and urgent need for a health insurance savings plan that must be introduced to all Malaysians, as 15% of the Malaysian population will be aged above 60 in 10 years.
“A national health insurance scheme was proposed and discussed 25 years ago, but was not implemented,” he said in a statement today.
He also said that implementing the insurance scheme would ensure that the retirees would not be “stranded” after the age of 60 when they are no longer employed.
“For this (health insurance plan) to happen, professional bodies such as the MMA and NGOs representing senior citizens should be consulted,” he added.
He said this important issue would be discussed at the 10th Malaysian Hybrid Conference on Healthy Aging from March 15-17.