Global inflation has given a huge impact to everyone in the world, impacting economies and services including healthcare and medical costs. Increasing medical costs is a serious matter and it is burdening family finances in Malaysia. The inflation of healthcare costs refers to the constant increment in the costs of not only health services and medicines, but also other medical related services such as regular checkups with the doctor, medicines and other treatments. There are many factors that contribute to the inflation of healthcare, including the increment of the output costs of healthcare tools and equipment, higher claims for health services and overall increase of living cost. Let’s dive deeper on the effects of inflation in healthcare and how it gives a huge impact to the family finances.

Effects of inflation in healthcare on family finances 
 

1. Limited access 

The increase of medical costs will give an impact towards family finances, resulting in limited access to quality health services. Limited access means that users will find it hard to get access to healthcare services and medicines if the treatment cost increases due to the inflation. Quality health services are pricey, and with the inflation of health services, some families need to make extra expenses to accommodate their medical costs. Therefore, due to the inflation, some families had to delay or ignore important treatments because of their financial conditions.

2. Adding to the family's financial burden 

With the current inflation of healthcare costs, families experience higher financial pressure. Not only does it add to the family’s financial burden, it also affects the family’s financial planning. Other than treatment cost, other financial plannings such as monthly budget, academic funds and emergency funds will also experience changes to adapt with the adjustment. It is undeniably true that with the increasing of the medical costs and healthcare service, this phenomenon will bear worries to families as the whole family financial planning will be disturbed and some sacrifices must be made in order to cover the cost of treatment for the whole family.

3. Increasing healthcare expenses

One of the obvious effects of inflation is the increasing expenditure for the family. Treatment cost by the doctor, chronic disease treatment and other health services such as physical therapy will also increase, aligning to the inflation phenomenon. Families may need to spend more money to take care of their wellbeing as well as their family members. Some families need to take on debts to cover the high medical costs. This effect goes back to the limited access point; the higher the inflation of medical costs, families will face more difficulties to get access to quality health services.

The inflation of medical costs may give apparent effects towards a certain family’s financial situation. With a good understanding and action, family finances can be protected and well-kept. Families need to plan their health expenses in their family finances budget to avoid any extra unnecessary usage of money and can make early preparation if needed. Having a comprehensive medical takaful plan in place is one method to ensure that your family is adequately shielded against unforeseen medical costs brought on by disease or accidents. Additionally, this protects them against the inflation of healthcare's growing medical expenditures.