Health inflation accelerated to 3.0% in 2025, more than doubling from 1.4% in 2024, largely due to rising healthcare service costs and a sharp increase in insurance premiums, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In its Preliminary Malaysia Health Price Index (HPI) 2025 report, DOSM said the increase was primarily driven by the Health Services category, which rose 4.4% compared with 0.9% in the previous year.
The department attributed the stronger increase mainly to the Insurance expenditure class, which surged 9.0% in 2025 after recording no increase in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Medicines category recorded inflation of 2.7%, up from 2.2% a year earlier, while Health Equipment prices increased 1.2% compared with 0.6% in 2024.
Medicines remain the largest component of household healthcare expenditure in Malaysia, accounting for 38.9% of the overall Health Price Index weighting.
DOSM noted that Malaysia’s health inflation remained moderate when compared with selected regional economies.
Among countries monitored, Vietnam recorded the highest health inflation at 5.3% in 2025, exceeding Malaysia’s 3.0%, while Thailand registered the lowest rate at negative 0.8%.
The department explained that while Malaysia’s Health Price Index is compiled by combining health-related components from several Consumer Price Index (CPI) groups, international comparisons are based on the health component published within each country’s CPI.
The Health Price Index represents one of DOSM’s latest statistical initiatives aimed at providing a more comprehensive measure of healthcare-related inflation.
The index tracks price movements across three major categories:
- Medicines
- Health Equipment
- Health Services
It is compiled using a combination of primary and secondary data sources to provide a broader picture of healthcare costs faced by households.
DOSM said the Health Price Index is intended to complement existing inflation indicators by offering policymakers, healthcare stakeholders and the public a more detailed understanding of healthcare cost trends.
The department said the statistics would support evidence-based planning, implementation and monitoring of healthcare policies while helping improve the efficiency of healthcare service delivery through more comprehensive and relevant official statistics.
DOSM added that the publication is a preliminary report and remains subject to revision as more comprehensive healthcare sector data and indicators become available.
