Crowd sharing app for medical funding launched
> Firm rolls out Life Engineering as alternative to insurance and charity in face of rising healthcare costs
KUALA LUMPUR: Life Engineering, Malaysia’s first crowd sharing app for medical funding, aims to provide an alternative for Malaysians to traditional medical funding options such as insurance and charity.
Launched yesterday, Life Engineering was established by Crowd Care Sdn Bhd, a company founded by former convict turned entrepreneur Gideon Leong Yue Wai, who is also chairman of the company. He served prison time for providing illegal monetary services.
“Medical costs have risen significantly in recent times and it puts an additional strain on people who suffer mishaps. The app was born out of the desire to help alleviate the financial burden of Malaysians in their medical care,” Leong told reporters at the launch.
Subscribers or “sharers” join the community by paying an annual participation fee of RM100 and depositing RM100 into a crowd sharing fund pool managed by external trustee TMF Group, an international financial and administrative services provider.
Co-founder and CEO Loh Gim Chuan ( pix) said contribution is capped at RM50 per sharer per month, with a maximum possible contribution of RM600 per year. Contribution per sharer is lower when the number of sharers increases.
“The contributions vary from month to month, depending on the total medical bills paid and the number of sharers there are in the preceding month,” he said.
Sharers who require treatment need to present their virtual identity in the app at any panel hospital for admission and/or treatment. The admission request will be reviewed and approved by Eximius Medical Administration Solutions Sdn Bhd (Emas), the appointed professional medical auditor.
When patients are discharged, Life Engineering will pay the medical bills and then get a reimbursement from the pooled fund. Hospital admissions are limited to four-bedded rooms or RM150 per night.
At present, the medical panel in the programme has 86 private and 135 public hospitals including specialist centres like National Heart Institute of Malaysia and Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital.
Life Engineering will cover all medical fees incurred by subscribers who seek inpatient treatment and/or day surgery at any of the panel hospitals with no annual nor lifetime limits on the medical fees incurred and the number of times treatment is sought.
Life Engineering is only for Malaysians seeking treatment in Malaysia. Participation is open to those aged between eight and 40 years old, with plans to expand the age group within three to six months.
Sharers must not have any pre-existing medical condition, while an extra multiplier of 1.2 times is applicable for smokers. The company is targeting 20,000 sharers by year-end.
According to Loh, the company raised RM1 million for operating expenses prior to the launch and is in the process of raising RM1.5 million more from private investors. Income is also generated through advertisements in the app, of which 30% will go to the pooled fund.
He said the company plans to expand to Singapore and Hong Kong in the second half of 2017 and is already in talks with potential investors. It is also exploring opportunities to work with employers on medical coverage for staff.
“Life Engineering is the first of its kind in Malaysia. Globally, there is a China-based app with a similar platform,” said Loh.