Wanted: A body to oversee health insurance payouts

OUR public healthcare system is efficient in meeting the needs of the rakyat, but it is severely overburdened. Reports of bed shortages, long waits to see specialists, and overcrowding in the emergency departments have been widespread of late.

As such, patients are often forced to seek treatment in private hospitals and clinics where some may have to pay out of their own pockets, usually from their savings or through loans.