General medical expense cost estimates for elderly parents

Insurance in Malaysia is only for hospital admission and pre-diagnostic services that are related to admission. Healthcare prices vary according to where and who performs them e.g. government hospital -v- private clinic. You need to discuss a few policies to see what is suitabe. One area which needs attention is the size of the deposit for surgery. They can be eyewatering The pass your parents will be on is called Social Visit Pass (Long Term) I think. DPs are for spouses and children.

This is from KL Government Hospital - http://www.hkl.gov.my/index.php/advance … al-charges

This is middle ranking hospital https://www.mahkotamedical.com/about-mm … estimator/

Screening at private clinic (scroll down) http://bphealthcare.com/new/products-services/

Hospitals offer screening services too.

Thanks a bunch for your help  . That's exactly what I was looking for. You got that right, it's social visitor pass. Local and expat costs are way different. Is it same difference as 'wait time', between private and public hospitals ? Or the quality of service is also very different ?

No. Its a new protocol to make non-Malaysians contribute more to the health care system so as to advantage locals. The public hospitals are very busy and as you can probably guess, visitors need to look after patients in terms of food etc. Private hospitals have full care nd board in most cases. The best trained or experienced doctors often opt to work in the private sector. The government hospitals are training grounds as well. Many of the doctors are trained overseas through gov. sponsorship, which is why the protectionism exists - need to provide jobs for those trained. There are so many hospitals waiting lists should be minimal. There is no paramedic facility in conjunction with ambulance services.

Thanks a bunch for sharing further insight into this subject. I got the picture.

I paid about RM10k for a knee operation and RM20k for a slipped disc operation a few years ago. They were paid by my insurance, but that company doesn't provide coverage for 70+. Did those operations at Pantai Hospital in KL.

Thanks for sharing this information. That's very helpful.

Can you also give me an idea of the insurance cost as well ?

Yes. I paid about RM5600 per year for myself, my wife and my two young children. I'm in my upper 50's so mine was the biggest part.

I see, that's not bad for a year, to have a peace of mind. Thanks for sharing this information.

After 59 yrs of age I think a medical is mandatory and discloure of pre-existing conditions. There are some companies that now provide insurance up to 80 yrs of age. The price of policies can be based on a lifetime maximum payout, or max number of days hospitalization, or 30-60 days prior expenses to surgery being taken into consideration. They need careful comparison, also on excesses - which in some cases are more than most minor surgeries, i.e. you end up paying everything yourself. Plus if you arrange direct with the insurer yourself you automatically save 10% because that hike is already built-in to pay agents referral fees. In addition, my policy with Tokio Marine give me another 15% rebate if no claims are made between renewals. So do shop around and compare the fine print.

Thanks a bunch for sharing first-hand advice. This is very helpful. One of my parent is 70+ and another is 80+ and both have BP and heart surgery already and one is diabetes. I guess I'll need to explore the pros and cons of using insurance.