{
  "id": 7201360,
  "title": "Healthcare reforms will take time, but cannot lose momentum, say experts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/healthcare-reforms-will-take-time-but-cannot-lose-momentum-say-experts",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-13T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/14/healthcare-reforms-will-take-time-but-cannot-lose-momentum-say-experts"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Malaysian healthcare experts caution that significant reforms are necessary to improve the country's healthcare system, but they emphasize these changes will take time to show tangible results. Dr June Choon, a Sunway University pharmacy professor, argues that long-term initiatives like the RESET strategy and MediAsas insurance plan require navigating political scrutiny, legislative debates, budget negotiations, and thorough implementation before they can benefit patients.\n\nThe RESET framework aims to reduce medical costs through five strategies: improving medical and health insurance/takaful, increasing price transparency, strengthening the digital health ecosystem, promoting cost-effective options, and reforming provider payments. MediAsas, a private medical insurance and takaful initiative, is designed to make private healthcare more affordable and accessible but is not a national health insurance scheme.\n\nExperts stress that MediAsas should be seen as part of the broader reform effort, not an isolated solution. Malaysia's harm reduction programs from 2005-2013, which prevented an estimated 12,650 HIV infections and saved RM47 million, demonstrate that reforms can have delayed but significant impacts. The success of these initiatives hinges on sustained political commitment and cross-party support, as the frequent changes in health ministers could disrupt progress.\n\nChoon highlights the need for a dedicated health financing mechanism to avoid budget competition with other government ministries, which currently slows reform implementation. She also calls for better digital infrastructure to track progress and measure the success of reforms more accurately. Health analyst Chua Hong Teck echoes these sentiments, emphasizing that healthcare reform is a marathon, not a sprint, and requires a generation to yield meaningful results.",
  "summary": "Sunway University’s Dr June Choon says the RESET strategy and MediAsas insurance plan must withstand political scrutiny, legislative argument and budget haggling.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Healthcare reforms will take time, but cannot lose momentum, say experts",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/healthcare-reforms-will-take-time-but-cannot-lose-momentum-say-experts-7205332",
        "published": "2026-09-13T23:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}