Evaluating Consumer Acceptance of Medical Repricing in Malaysia: The Role of Fairness, Transparency, Trust and Health Insurance Literacy

Abstract

This study examines the structural impact of perceived fairness, transparency, institutional trust and health insurance literacy on public acceptance of medical insurance repricing in Malaysia. Against the backdrop of compounding medical inflation in an emerging economy, existing literature has predominantly focused on Western employer-based systems, leaving an empirical gap regarding individual Medical and Health Insurance/Takaful (MHIT) policyholders in Southeast Asia. Utilizing a quantitative, cross-sectional design, primary data were gathered from 100 middle and upper middle-class policyholders in Puncak Alam, Selangor. Multiple Linear Regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the hypothesized relationships (?, t, p, R², VIF). The findings reveal that perceived fairness (?=0.312, p<0.001) and institutional trust (?=0.285, p <0.005) exert the strongest direct effects on policyholder acceptance of repricing, while health insurance literacy and transparency serve as vital structural precursors. The proposed model accounted for a significant proportion of variance in repricing acceptance (R²=0.548, F=28.78). These empirical insights demonstrate that long-term pricing sustainability and policyholder retention depend not only on actuarial solvency, but also on transparent communication frameworks and regulatory anchors.