RAKAN KKM

Rakan KKM is a whole-of-government partnership aimed at enhancing Malaysia's public healthcare system. Inspired by Malaysia MADANI, it seeks to increase:

• healthcare worker retention,
• boost investment in public healthcare for the benefit of the B40
• provide value-based options to address rising healthcare costs, especially for the M40.

The initiative offers 'premium economy' services at selected public hospitals, including personalised care, specialist choice, and enhanced privacy, for elective outpatient, daycare, and inpatient services.

A key feature of Rakan KKM is its commitment to public benefit. Unlike previous initiatives, it includes the entire healthcare team in its income support model, not just lead specialists.

Crucially, excess revenues will be reinvested to improve public healthcare services for all patients. This ensures that the initiative is not a zero-sum game but rather contributes to the overall strength and sustainability of the public healthcare system.

The initiative is designed to retain healthcare workers in the public sector while providing them with better incomes and working conditions. It will start with a few hospitals and gradually expand to most major specialist hospitals across the country. 

Rakan KKM is supported by initial seed financing from the Ministry of Finance and potential investments from Government Linked Investment Companies (GLICs).

Rakan KKM represents a strategic approach to preserve public ownership of healthcare facilities while addressing increasing demand and financial realities. It aims to catalyse value-based healthcare throughout the ecosystem, adhering to clinical best practices and rational healthcare use.

The initiative reaffirms Malaysia's commitment to a robust, equitable, modernised, and sustainable public healthcare system, ensuring excellent healthcare services for all Malaysians regardless of their economic status.

Rakan KKM is a new initiative, which represents key improvements to existing similar initiatives, such as the Full Paying Patients (FPP) and FlexiHours.

Inspired by the spirit and objectives of Malaysia MADANI, the objective of Rakan KKM is to create a win-win-win situation where we:

• increase the retention of healthcare workers to benefit all patients
• raise the floor, especially for the B40, by increasing investment in the public healthcare system
• raise the ceiling, especially for the M40, by providing more value-based options amidst rising healthcare costs

As government initiative designed to serve the public interest, the revenues from Rakan KKM are used to: 

• Pay for the full costs of providing the services, including paying the hospital for the use of consumables and infrastructure, paying healthcare teams, and the costs of administering and managing this initiative.
• Invest in shared services, for the use and benefit of all patients, including those who are not under Rakan KKM.
• If there are excess revenues, these will be used for the public purpose including explicitly cross-subsidising public patients.

No.

Privatisation refers to the transfer of ownership, control, and management of public assets to the private sector. 

Under Rakan KKM, ownership of the entire initiative will remain with the government, directly and through GLIC investors.

Rakan KKM will be governed by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, and will be managed by a professional team appointed by and held accountable to the government.

Financing for this initiative will come from the Ministry of Finance, in the form of seed financing, and from investments from GLICs.

As a public initiative, Rakan KKM is not profit-driven and will catalyse value-based healthcare.

Patients who choose to participate in Rakan KKM will continue to enjoy the high standard of medical care throughout the Malaysian public healthcare system on a ‘premium economy’ basis, with modestly increased convenience and comfort including:

• personalised care,
• the ability to choose their specialists,
• additional privacy and comfort in the wards.

Services under Rakan KKM will not compete with the luxury and price points of existing private healthcare services.

The primary benefit for public healthcare teams who opt to participate in Rakan KKM will be significant additional income, while continuing to work in a familiar, enabling environment.

Under FPP, only specialists benefit from a significant additional income. Revenues generated goes to the government, and not directly back to the hospitals. 

Under Rakan KKM, other public healthcare workers (besides the specialists) who participate will also be formally paid. The extra profit from Rakan KKM meanwhile will go directly back to the hospitals, and into the public healthcare system. This will therefore benefit all patients, including those not under Rakan KKM. 

Therefore, compared to the FPP scheme, additional beneficiaries will now include: 

• More healthcare workers
• The MOH as a whole
• Public patients (even those not under Rakan KKM)

MOH specialists are currently allowed to take one day a week off work to do external locums and work at private hospitals, as allowed for under a 2017 circular by MOH. Specialists who did so were able to supplement their income through this FlexiHours working plan. 

Specialists now have the option to spend a similar amount of time working under Rakan KKM instead, earning a similar level of extra income and continuing to provide clinical leadership at their home hospital without having to go to a different hospital or use an external medical team. 

Public hospitals will benefit from specialists spending more time there, instead of leaving to do external locums at private hospitals. This will also ease any current additional burdens that are placed on healthcare workers due to the FlexiHours scheme.

Public patients who do not participate in Rakan KKM will benefit in the following ways: 

• Retention of specialists and nurses in the public sector
• Financing from MOF to MOH hospitals can be concentrated on the non-Rakan KKM patients
• Investments in shared services that will improve conditions for all

There will be no diversion of currently available resources from the public healthcare system to Rakan KKM as Rakan KKM services will make use of untapped capacity, such as out-of-hours capacity. 

Furthermore, as Rakan KKM is not a zero-sum game, capacity can be expanded using revenues from Rakan KKM and investments from GLICs, to benefit all patients. 

Ultimately, public patients will experience better healthcare.

Final pricing details will be the responsibility of Rakan KKM’s appointed professional management, in accordance with the following general principles: 

• Rakan KKM services will be priced above cost to allow for added income to flow into the public healthcare system.
• Rakan KKM services will be priced below existing private hospital offerings.
• Services under Rakan KKM will not compete with the luxury and price points of existing private healthcare services, as it is intended to provide Malaysians with value options for healthcare services.

Extensive feedback received so far indicates a positive response from healthcare workers regarding Rakan KKM.

In one of our recent surveys, 98.4% of public healthcare workers surveyed responded that they were supportive of Rakan KKM. 

Key factors for this support include how Rakan KKM will allow healthcare workers to increase their income, secure in the realisation that their extra efforts will also support non-Rakan KKM patients. Rakan KKM will help public healthcare workers retain their proud position in the public service and help to stem brain drain.

In the first stage of implementation, Rakan KKM will be introduced in a handful of specialist hospitals. Full details will be announced in due time. 

Patients who choose to participate in Rakan KKM will continue to enjoy the high standard of medical care throughout the Malaysian public healthcare system on a ‘premium economy’ basis, with modestly increased convenience and comfort including:

• personalised care,
• the ability to choose their specialists, 
• additional privacy and comfort in the wards.

Services under Rakan KKM will not compete with the luxury and price points of existing private healthcare services.

MOH is in talks with private health insurance companies to ensure that services under Rakan KKM can be covered. So far, private health insurance companies have responded positively.

No. Rakan KKM is designed to ensure that there is no disruption whatsoever to the current patient experience within the public healthcare system.

Rakan KKM is a completely optional programme. 

Healthcare workers who choose to spend their extra time on the Rakan KKM program have the opportunity to earn additional income.

Those who choose not to participate in Rakan KKM will not be disadvantaged in any way.

Once Rakan KKM is implemented, we hope to invite retired healthcare workers, including both specialists and nurses, to be part of Rakan KKM where there are gaps.   

Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. Please fill in the form at the bottom part of this website.

Rakan KKM is a whole-of-government initiative that is supported by the Ministry of Finance, and by Government Linked Investment Companies (GLICs), via the GEAR-uP initiative.

As a government rather than private sector initiative, Rakan KKM’s value proposition for GLIC partners remains compelling - exposure to a dynamic and growing sector, access to a national network of public hospitals operating as integrated clusters, and the top clinical leaders nationally.

A professional team will be soon be appointed to make all the key decisions regarding the detailed operational specifics for Rakan KKM, as informed by the values and principles outlined above. We hope to invite our first Rakan KKM patient as soon as possible.

A properly-governed special purpose vehicle (SPV) is being considered to operate this initiative.

Yes. Very many countries have similar programmes as part of their public healthcare system, including countries such as Singapore and Australia. However, the unique innovation of Rakan KKM is that this initiative has been designed to expand capacity through investments to ensure that all patients can benefit.