KUCHING: Health insurance-related prices in Malaysia rose 9.1 per cent in 2025 after remaining unchanged the previous year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In its Annual Health Price Index 2025 report, DOSM said the index for insurance connected with health increased to 109.4 from 100.3 in 2024.
The component, which accounts for 14.6 per cent of the Health Price Index (HPI) basket, had recorded inflation of just 0.3 per cent in 2023.
Price increases also accelerated across several hospital and emergency healthcare services.
Inflation for long-term inpatient care rose to 2.1 per cent from 0.2 per cent in 2024, while inpatient curative and rehabilitative services increased to 1.4 per cent from 0.3 per cent.
Patient emergency transportation and rescue services recorded inflation of 2.1 per cent against 0.5 per cent previously, while diagnostic imaging and medical laboratory services rose 2.0 per cent compared with 1.4 per cent.
However, inflation for preventive care services moderated to 2.8 per cent from 3.2 per cent.
Immunisation services recorded slower inflation of 2.8 per cent against 5.1 per cent, while other preventive services eased to 2.8 per cent from 3.0 per cent.
Outpatient dental services also moderated to 1.5 per cent from 2.3 per cent, with other outpatient dental services easing to 1.8 per cent from 2.4 per cent. Prices for preventive dental services remained unchanged.
Inflation for other outpatient care services, excluding preventive and dental care, remained at 0.6 per cent, matching the rate for outpatient curative and rehabilitative services.
Outpatient long-term care inflation eased to 1.1 per cent from 1.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, inflation for repair, rental and maintenance of medical and assistive products slowed to 0.1 per cent from 0.2 per cent.
Social protection services recorded inflation of 1.4 per cent against 1.8 per cent previously.
Within this category, services to maintain persons in private homes eased to 1.3 per cent from 2.0 per cent, while non-medical retirement homes and residences for disabled persons moderated to 0.8 per cent from 1.2 per cent.
Other social protection services, however, recorded higher inflation of 2.2 per cent compared with 1.7 per cent in 2024.
