INSURANCE companies in Malaysia continues to exclude HIV infections from its coverage plans, despite the fact that the illness is now considered a manageable chronic condition and that multinational insurance companies from other countries have already began covering it.
This was found by a study that was conducted by the Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF), in support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
With an aim to explore the gaps in provision of insurance policies and schemes for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Malaysia, the study also revealed that it would actually be beneficial for Malaysian employers and businesses to start changing their perspective on the issue.
“Limitation of health insurance coverage could undermine the significant advances that have been made in HIV treatment. Having a more inclusive coverage that caters to the need of PLHIV would create a wider access to life-saving treatment and prevention services,” explained MAF chairman Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman.
“Without treatment, PLHIV will miss the opportunity to reduce mortality and co-morbidity associated with HIV infection. If we can agree to overcome this barrier, we can look forward to a very positive outcome in our fight against AIDS and a brighter future for PLHIV in Malaysia,” she added.
According to MAF, the study also includes a number of important policy recommendations as well as reasonable action plans to eventually include HIV in health insurance plans within the country.
This includes leveraging on by the Ministry of Health to pursue the agenda and aligning them with the National Strategic Plan to end the AIDS Epidemic by 2030.
The study also reiterates the call for stronger participation of PLHIV in a way that would deepen the understanding of the needs of the community and sharpen the focus and direction of discussions on the inclusion of HIV in private health insurance coverage.
Finally, the study also calls for multi-stakeholder collaboration to develop legislation/policy prohibiting discrimination against PLHIV in all sectors on grounds of real or perceived HIV status, which is not at odds with the vision of Malaysian Business Consortium for HIV/AIDS (MBCH) and has been an ongoing battleground that the Foundation has rigorously pursued with support by key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Human Resources. – May 8, 2021
