Top 5 at 5: Is Our Healthcare Ready For The DRG System?

The costs for medical services in Malaysia's private hospitals has seen a huge rise over the years. To tackle this, the government is looking into implementing the diagnosis-related group system, which is a way for hospitals and insurance companies to categorize hospital stays based on the patient's main diagnosis and treatment. Instead of paying for each individual service, a fixed amount is set based on the category the patient's condition falls into. However, this system has faced problems in other countries, like inadequate compensation for patients with complicated conditions (those that don't fall in one set category). We discuss all this with Dr Khor Swee Kheng.

• Fraud syndicates appoint celebrities as ambassadors: Veteran actor Datuk Jalaluddin Hassan, singer Ziana Zain and astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor were all among celebrities linked to this purported syndicate. All three were paid in some way to promote the company. We speak to Raymon Ram, certified fraud examiner and anti-money laundering specialist at Graymatter Forensic about how celebrity endorsement is being used to help "legitimise" these syndicates in the eyes of the public.

• 2 percent EPF for migrant workers: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently announced that the Malaysian government will cap employers' EPF contributions for foreign workers at 2%. This decision is part of a broader plan to make EPF contributions mandatory for all foreign workers, benefiting around two million migrant workers. Adrian Pereira who’s the Executive Director of the North-South Initiative weighs in.

• Myanmar junta extends state of emergency: The Myanmar junta has extended the state of emergency for another six months, claiming it's necessary to prepare for elections. However, critics doubt the legitimacy of these elections, suggesting they may be a ploy to maintain military power. We speak to Elaine Pearson, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch about this development.

• Popek Popek Parlimen: Today, discussions focused on the country's SEA Games goals as well as a new scheme to protect employees. US President Donald Trump's plans to take over Gaza also became a topic of discussion in today's session.

Image Credit: Pexels

Presenter: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharaad Kuttan

Producer: Tee Shiao Eek, Alia Zefri, Dashran Yohan, Lim Sue Ann, Sudais Ferhard

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