Survey: Young M’sians prefer private healthcare

The Star:If provisions for medical expenses are all taken care of, the younger generation of Malaysians is most likely to opt for private healthcare services, the AIA Life Matters Survey 2005 reveals.
“This trend is generally made evident by the rising affluence and education levels of society,” executive vice-president and general manager of American International Assurance Company, Ltd (AIA Malaysia), Richard Bender said.
“It is always the younger generation that leads the way in any trend, Particularly with developing countries, the younger generation is more educated compared with the older generation, and with more education comes more awareness of risks, including health risks,” he said in a statement on the findings of the survey.
Bender said the key factor for the result of the survey was “Having a protection plan”.
Respondents were asked, for selected treatments, their preference between private and public medical services if they had to pay out of their own pockets as opposed to if all medical expenses were covered for example, by a protection plan.
If respondents had to pay their own way, only between 29% and 38% said they would opt for private healthcare.
On the other hand, if all expenses were covered, the picture changed drastically, with between 53% and 61% of respondents saying they would choose private healthcare, Bender said.