COMMENT | The Malaysian healthcare landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation - one that exposes deep-seated conflicts of interest with price transparency, unchecked consolidation of clinical and payor corporations, and the slow erosion of clinical autonomy in favour of financial gains.

Recent events reported on mainstream media - ranging from horror stories heard in Parliamentary Select Committee hearings on insurance premium hikes to sweeping directives that may force private healthcare providers to limit advanced tests and prescribe generic drugs - offer a window into a system driven less by patient care and more by profit maximisation.

Can of worms in primary care

Large primary care groups have long enjoyed symbiotic relationships with third-party administrators (TPAs).

These alliances, forged over decades, now reveal a disturbing pattern...