Guide to employee health benefits in Malaysia

Employee benefits are one of the many perks believed to be a substantial factor for employees to perform better.

Article by:
Kiren Velu Pillai

Introduction

Employee retention and talent attraction for organisation are among the challenges that many human resources professionals encounter in ensuring a low turnover rate among their employees. Employee benefits are one of the many perks believed to be a substantial factor for employees to perform better.

According to Insurance Business Asia, 23% of employees have recorded higher job performance and invested almost two times of their effort voluntarily when they have a great employee experience that includes an excellent benefits scheme.

While there are various employee benefits to choose from, research from Clutch shows 62% of employee prioritise health insurance coverage over any other benefit as it is essential in terms of job satisfaction.

Hence, this eBook will provide insights towards the basics of employee health coverage such as utilisation, corporate expenditure and ways to manage your corporate healthcare plan through a digitalised platform.

Types of medical coverage

Outpatient care is any medical service you receive without being admitted to a hospital or for a stay shorter than 24 hours. Here are a few example of inpatients services:

'Inpatient care is when your are staying in a hospital and receiving medical care directed by a physician or another medical provider. Inpatient stays can be very brief or several weeks long. Here are a few example of inpatients services:

Popular employee healthcare benefit

Data Obtained From HealthMetrics Corporate Clients


The graph above displays HealthMetrics 1,000+ corporate clients that currently use the HealthMetrics platform. The most popular benefits are specialist visitation and health screening, followed by preventive care services such as medical checkup, vaccination, and wellness.


It`s no surprise that health screening and specialist visitation are among the popular choice, as it was reported that Malaysian employees are generally unhealthy due to inadequate dietary consumption and physically out of shape.


According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, many Malaysian employees suffer from multiple health comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity as the highest underlying health issue.


When these diseases are left untreated, it could lead towards complex cardiovascular diseases ( heart attacks and stroke), cancer, and other chronic diseases and would require cardiologists specialist for further diagnostics and treatment.

Organisation expenditure on medical coverage

Ever wonder how much do organisation spend on retaining their top-performing employees?

Data obtained from the Malaysian Employers Federation(MEF) Fringe Benefits Survey 2020 provides comprehensive coverage of fringe benefits policies and practices adopted by the public and private sector. The survey consists of 199 companies compromising various industries such as real estate, banking and finance, logistics and consultation and many more.

In 2020 alone, showed that employers have spent RM 62.5 Million, with inpatient contributing RM 36 million and outpatient contributing RM 26.4 Million. Below are figures from each organisational hierarchy such as senior management, managers, executive, expatriates and foreign labour.

Outpatient coverage


Inpatient coverage


The need for medical coverage


According, to the Mercer March Medical Trends in Malaysia the cost of medical treatment including inpatient and outpatient is increasing by 13% on a year to year average. Hence, most Malaysian employers provide group medical insurance plans to employees, to cover any accidents and illness as it can be expensive to pay out of pocket.

Further research from the MEF, shows employers are now becoming more aware of the importance of an extensive healthcare benefit program that includes inpatient benefits.

However, it can be challenging for HR to craft an inpatient plan, especially for corporate with large headcount, as the services compromise complex hospitalisation and surgery care when compared against outpatient service, which generally deals with smaller scaled treatment.

At HealthMetrics, we asked our customers, listened to their feedback, and we're excited to launch our Professional Plan, which includes inpatient benefits modules to solve confusing inpatients matters and manage complex healthcare expenditure more effectively.

HealthMetrics professional plan

HealthMetrics Professional Plan is a self-funded plan and is similar towards Administrative Service Only (ASO) practice. It works by, organisation fund their employee benefit plan and the administration is handled by HealthMetrics.

The benefits of using this plan are that there is no annual premium. Instead, it is a pay-per-use usage, meaning the organisation will only pay the amount based on their employee medical utilisation and a one-time refundable deposit to begin using the service.


Summary of the professional plan


We at HealthMetrics, understand the difficulty in preparing a healthcare plan. Therefore we have prepared a complimentary evaluation to assist you in picking the right plan. Click here to conduct a free assessment to further streamline your organisation healthcare plan.


Why should my organisation consider HealthMetrics?

No matter how large a company may be, you may not wish to handle all insurance issues in-house. Outsourcing your plan's administration prevents your HR team from enduring a learning curve and dealing with potentially confusing, complicated insurance matters where mistakes can easily be made and cost your company.


Getting started with Healthmetrics

As an HR manager, you will be able to understand your employees’ medical consumption and well-being. For example, suppose the medical claims for flu have increased by 80%.

In that case, it`s an indicator of your workforce health, where you might consider investing in a flu vaccination program for your employees to reduce overall transmission of the disease and reduce absenteeism and presenteeism.

As a result, this can improve the employees’ experience and productivity at your company. Employees will also have access to their allocated healthcare benefits using the HealthMetrics mobile application.

Through the HealthMetrics platform, all the paperwork involved will be streamlined and automated for HR teams when employees submit their medical or sick leave to go to the hospital or the nearest GP.

All-in-all, HR teams can save time and cost while providing peace of mind to employees. If you are ready to get started, speak to one of our consultants here or visit our pricing page today.

About HealthMetrics

HealthMetrics, is an enterprise web-based software to assist HR in simplifying and managing the complexities of employee healthcare plans with our extensive healthcare providers and employee productivity analytics.

Our primary objective is to provide a hassle-free and cost-effective solution for businesses to provide the hugely important employee medical benefits. HealthMetrics’​ complete health solution also provides the flexibility to HR to implement other benefits such as dental or vision care within seconds.

So why choose us? Our system serves businesses of all sizes. Our current clients include public-listed companies including insurance companies, medium-sized manufacturers and small businesses. And most importantly of all, the platform is FREE to use, and it will always be.

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Email

[email protected]


Contact Number

+603 7661 6229

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What is the HealthMetrics platform?

We have created a single, unified platform that enables organizations to enhance employee wellbeing and productivity, regardless of their growth stage. The platform grants access to essential features that improve workplace wellness and optimize healthcare.

Take a closer look at our HealthMetrics Dashboard, or speak to one of our representatives to learn more about HealthMetrics.

Any proof that it works?

48 hours saved in benefit reimbursement.
HealthMetrics’ data-driven approach has been able to accelerate the processing of employee's health benefits significantly.

Read study >


85% reduction in administrative task
Companies can reduce up to 85% of time spent on HR administrative task and this frees up time for HR on more important tasks.

Read study >

May I know about the pricing plans?

Our pricing plans vary in terms of the features and services that are included, so you can select the one that offers the right mix of benefits for your specific requirements. Whether you are a small business owner, a freelancer, or a larger organisation, we have a pricing plan that is tailored to your needs.

You can view the details of each pricing plan on our website, and our customer support team is always available to answer any questions you may have and help you choose the right one for you.

How is the customer support?

We understand that when you are using a platform, you may encounter issues or have questions, and we want to be there to help you resolve them as quickly as possible. That's why we have a team of highly trained and experienced support professionals who are available to assist you anytime.

Reach out to our 24/7 customer support through multiple channels:

Email: [email protected]
Hotline: +603-7661 6229
Helpcentre and FAQ: HealthMetrics Help Center