Materia Medica Malaysiana

thestar.com.my: Business News: "THE Life Insurance of Malaysia (LIAM) has welcomed the government's proposal for employers to provide medical and health insurance to employees.
But LIAM said it hoped the government would seriously consider its proposal to increase the personal tax relief for life insurance premiums to RM5,000 (from the current relief of up to RM3,000 for education and medical policies) as it would encourage more Malaysians to take up their own medical and health insurance.
It noted that only 35% of Malaysians were currently insured.
LIAM also said it was “deeply concerned” that the government had not considered the importance of setting up a private pension fund for Malaysians.
“We strongly believe that this is critical to help Malaysians enjoy a reasonably comfortable lifestyle after they have retired,” it added.
As good corporate citizens, LIAM said, insurers would ensure that insurance premiums were affordable to the public.
It added that premiums for medical insurance products were priced according to claims experience and that medical charges were imposed by doctors and hospitals.
Malaysian National Insurance Bhd (MNI) said the Budget 2004 reflects the government pro-growth commitment, while working towards a balance budget.
The government's priority was to sustain growth with higher involvement from the private sector, it said, adding that the domestic-led growth theme in this budget was timely to reduce dependence on foreign direct investment. "