PETALING JAYA: Health insurance policies are likely to cover the cost of treatment for a coronavirus infection.
However, if the patient is merely put under quarantine, he will most likely have to personally bear the costs.
Financial planner Marshall J. Y. Wong told theSun yesterday that once a medical practitioner confirms that it is “medically necessary” for the person to be treated, he can usually use his medical insurance card to get admission to a hospital.
However, he said, the extent of the coverage would depend on the person’s insurance policy.
“The contract in one policy may be different from the next. It is best to get a financial planner to study your insurance policy first.”
He was responding to a query on insurance coverage for those who have been diagnosed with a coronavirus infection.
He pointed out that in Malaysia, like in most other countries, someone showing symptoms of having contracted the virus is required to be quarantined at once.
“We are still in the early stages so it is unclear who will bear such costs.”
Wong said the cost of being quarantined at a private hospital could be exorbitant, yet it would not be covered by the person’s health insurance policy.
In a contract, he said, there are exclusion terms, one of which is “communicable diseases requiring quarantine by law”.
Global Covid-19 data can be viewed at SafetyDevices.
