Medical Expenses In Malaysia

The cost of health care in the US was a large concern of mine when I was debating leaving work. Even affording health insurance is difficult in the US, much less trying to afford health care without it. It is one of the many reasons I thought living overseas may be a good idea. Of course there are plenty of other reasons also, but not being able to afford health care if I need it is not very comforting. Luckily Malaysia has a good reputation for health care from what I've heard. I was lucky to not injure myself while in Malaysia, but I did take the opportunity to do some preventative measures.

Scaling... mountains? fish? teeth!

While I was in Malaysia I took the opportunity to catch up on some dental work. I decided to have a cleaning that I was overdue for. I haven't always been good to my teeth in the past and regret that now, so I knew I would be looking for a dentist while I was in Penang.

I did some research online and the first thing I found was the terminology was different from what I was used to. They call teeth cleaning "scaling" in Malaysia. Then I looked for dentist recommendations from expats online. I found some and checked them out by first calling and then doing a walk-by. In the end I chose a place that was recommended by a couple people online and was able to see me right away. It was in a reasonably convenient location also.

My experience was quite good. I made the appointment the day before I wanted to go. The office was really clean and new. Much better than the dentists I've been to in the States. I walked right in and was seen right away. No waiting around. They used state of the art equipment with cameras (to show me up close the before and after) and other fancy mechanical equipment. There were two ladies working on me directly and a third or fourth hanging around helping with I-don't-know-what. I was in and out before I knew it. The pricing wasn't totally obvious or up front, but in the end it still only cost RM100 (~USD33). That was without insurance. It was less than I would have paid in premiums for the really affordable dental insurance I had when I was working.

As long as I don't need major dental work I think Malaysia is ahead at this point.

Jibber jabber

I also decided to get a shot in an immunization series when I was there. A "jab" if you will. I looked around a lot and searched for clinics the same as I did for the dentist. I walked past offices to see if they looked clean and I called a list of clinics to see how much they charged for the shot (there was a medium sized range). I stumbled across a nice clinic while walking around. It looked modern and the doctor was friendly and helpful. I left and thought about whether this was where I wanted to go and eventually I did.

When I actually got my shot I walked right in off the street without an appointment and was seen right away. The shot costed RM45 (~USD15) which is almost 10% of what it would have costed in the US according to the Healthcare Bluebook. Again I was in and out as quick as if it was 7/11.

My healthcare experience in Malaysia was good. I don't know that living without health insurance is a wise idea, but if I had to do it I'd rather do it in Malaysia than the US. In Malaysia, there seems to be a wide range in quality, at least judging by appearance, but good care is available and affordable.