If we retire in Malaysia, I feel we should seriously consider relying on Malaysia public and private healthcare.

Obviously, we can always fly (or take train) back to Singapore for reliable healthcare, with citizen subsidies. We don’t have to if the Malaysian services are good enough in most cases. For a chronic condition, we don’t prefer frequent trips.

emergency  —  I believe overseas emergency medical will be covered by Medishield 🙂

bargain — The value/cost ratio of Malaysia healthcare might be a bargain for expats. https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to-retire/ 2019 article gave an illustration.

— Time magazine singled out healthcare as Malaysia’s top attraction for expat retirees.

— https://www.retirepedia.com/healthcare-in-malaysia.html is all about healthcare for expat retirees.

Public healthcare is available to expats in Malaysia and is very inexpensive. Nevertheless, many expats prefer private care because treatment is faster, (no long waiting times) and more efficient.

Free health care, other than emergency treatment, is restricted to Malaysian citizens. As a foreign resident, you’ll have to either pay yourself, or purchase local or international health insurance. Local insurance is much cheaper.

The best hospitals in the country are in Kuala Lumpur, which has also become a world class medical tourism destination.

If quick access to the best healthcare in Malaysia is important for you, then you should consider living in or close to Kuala Lumpur. Your next best choice would be other major cities like George Town, Shah Alam or Johor Bahru. There you’ll find many private clinics and hospitals with well trained specialists.

In a Malaysian private hospital, if you share your room with three other patients, you’ll pay as low as RM95 (USD 24).