Healthcare costs remain a problem that needs solving.
As medicine advances and newer technologies and techniques are developed to aid people in their healthcare journey, the ever-rising exorbitant costs still stay a thorn in the industry’s side. While the issue is less pronounced in Asia, since most citizens have government-subsidised healthcare, it only alleviates the problem for one side of the chain (the most important side, to be fair).
At the same time, insurers have done a great job in raising awareness for preventative care and wellness, and an increasing number of service providers have launched successful early detection programmes for cancers and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that also help lower the costs.
Another factor contributing to the rising costs of healthcare is Asia’s ageing population. This region has some of the highest life expectancies in the world and there is only so much preventative care and wellness someone can do before time catches up to them, and costly hospital stays and treatments are required. The industry also lacks the historical data to properly analyse the implications of an increasingly ageing customer base, given that people in most markets have never really lived this long before.
The other major hurdle in dealing with healthcare costs is that insurers are only one part of the healthcare supply chain, and not the part of the chain that determines the costs. The actual medicine and treatment segments of healthcare are the main reasons behind the ballooning costs, and there is only so much an insurer can do with underwriting and policy wording to keep those costs under control. While the conversations between the supply-side and insurance have increased over the years, not much progress has been made to effect any meaningful change.
And while all of this is happening, insurers are also grappling with their ill-deserved reputation as ‘gatekeepers’ of healthcare, somehow preventing doctors from providing the best (most expensive) treatment while also demanding higher and higher premiums. Much of this is due to sensational stories coming out of the US and the UK, but insurers are also famously shy about promoting their largely positive claims records, which would serve to change opinions.
At the end of the day, healthcare is a tough topic for anyone to deal with, from the suppliers to insurers to the end-customer. All we can do is our very best and give each other as much grace as possible. A
Ahmad Zaki
Editorial Director
Asia Insurance Review