A 55-YEAR-OLD single father, identified as Eson, was diagnosed with stage one bladder cancer in 2018.
Fortunately, at that time, he had his workplace insurance which covered his immunotherapy treatment that cost almost RM300,000 for three years.
Eson's cancer eventually got better but the doctor said that he was still at risk of the cancer returning and needed to be vigilant.
As a precautionary measure, Eson had bought an insurance policy for himself 15 years ago with a premium payment of RM652 per month.
"It's not easy to do sales work and Eson always works overtime which causes him to be constantly tired and exhausted, especially when Covid-19 hit.
"In 2021, Eson had to quit his job and take early retirement due to health reasons," Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said in a Facebook post.
Unfortunately, Eson was under financial pressure at the time and spent most of his retirement fund within two years.
"To make things worse, the insurance company increased his premium from RM652 to RM1,800 - a three-fold hike which is really burdensome for a retiree.
"On top of that, the doctor confirmed that Eson's cancer had returned.
"At this time, all his savings were gone, and the insurance company insisted on not lowering his premium. How was he going to survive?" wrote Sim.
He said Eson came to his office and said, "YB, I want to die. My cancer has come back, and I can no longer afford to pay for my insurance."
"Eson is not alone, there are hundreds of other cases I have received involving sudden increases in insurance premiums.
"There are 70-year-old senior citizens who are willing to surrender their policies and lose all their coverage," said Sim.
He said in November 2024, he raised this issue in Parliament and met with the Governor of Bank Negara.
As a result, BNM introduced an “interim measure” by setting a maximum ceiling limit of 10% for three years.
"I personally helped Eson send his complaint to BNM, and eventually his premium was reduced back to RM652.
"Almost half of Malaysians rely on insurance for health protection. Insurance companies cannot arbitrarily increase premium prices and threaten the lives of the people.
"This is a matter of life and death and I promise, I will fight to the end to defend the rights of the people. I will not allow this to happen again," added Sim. - May 19, 2025
