The government is considering a proposal to allow Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members to use their Account 2 savings to pay for monthly health insurance premiums.
According to the New Straits Times, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the move could potentially enable up to 16 million EPF contributors to access private hospital treatment using their EPF contributions.
This approach, which has been adopted in several other countries, aims to widen access to health insurance coverage,” he said, noting that currently, 32 percent of healthcare expenses in Malaysia are paid out-of-pocket by the public.
An optional scheme
Dr Dzulkefly stressed that the scheme would be optional, and only a small portion of the EPF savings would be used for the insurance payments.
Only a small percentage will go toward the insurance premiums. Members won’t even feel it because it’s not coming directly out of their pocket—it’s from their EPF,” he explained.
This is the best way forward. Over time, Malaysians will have coverage similar to what’s available in Singapore. But we won’t force anyone.”
He added that contributors should be given the choice, especially since some might prefer broader insurance coverage options available in the market. The proposed plan would differ from the existing i-Lindung scheme, which only covers disability, critical illness, and life protection.
‘Rakan KKM’ to optimise public healthcare capacity
Dr Dzulkefly also announced the upcoming launch of the ‘Rakan KKM’ initiative, expected by the third quarter of this year. The programme aims to make use of underutilised facilities in government hospitals to improve healthcare access, especially for low-income groups.
For example, hospitals in Putrajaya and Cyberjaya have operating rooms and wards that are rarely used due to staffing shortages. That’s considered surplus capacity,” he said.
So far, four hospitals have joined the programme: Hospital Cyberjaya, Hospital Putrajaya, Hospital Serdang, and the National Cancer Institute (IKN).
