Rising Healthcare Costs Put Spotlight on How Malaysian Employers Coordinate Workplace Health

KUALA LUMPUR, 9 September 2026 — Rising employee benefit and medical plan costs are placing greater scrutiny on how Malaysian organisations plan and manage workplace health, particularly where responsibility is shared across HR, Procurement, HSE, Facilities, Operations and multiple external providers.

Aon’s Malaysia Pulse Survey Report 2025 found that 72% of surveyed organisations had experienced an increase in overall employee benefit costs over the preceding three years, with 34% reporting increases of more than 10% per annum. Separately, Aon’s 2026 medical-trend outlook projects a 16% gross medical trend rate for employee medical plans in Malaysia in 2026, up from 15% in 2025.

Where workplace health and readiness requirements span several functions, organisations may need to coordinate licensed clinics, laboratories, allied health professionals, product suppliers and technical specialists at the same time.

Against this backdrop, Novum Health Solutions Sdn. Bhd. has introduced Novum Corporate Health, an evidence informed framework developed under medical leadership to help organisations structure and coordinate workplace health, medical readiness, safety procurement and selected industrial safety requirements while maintaining clear professional boundaries.

The framework begins with the organisation’s requirement rather than a fixed catalogue of services.

A health screening or workplace influenza vaccination programme may be initiated by HR, while Procurement manages commercial arrangements and Operations manages scheduling and site access. First aid readiness, eyewash requirements or selected safety equipment needs may instead involve HSE or Facilities, alongside external suppliers and specialist service providers.

A Novum Corporate Health spokesperson said:

“The challenge is often not finding a clinic, supplier or specialist. It is understanding what the organisation actually requires, bringing the right parties together and keeping responsibilities clear when several internal teams and external providers are involved.”

For HR and People teams, the framework can support the coordination of corporate health screening, workplace influenza vaccination and evidence based health education, together with annual programme planning and selected partner led workforce health pathways such as musculoskeletal and physiotherapy support, nutrition and metabolic health programmes, and sleep and fatigue awareness.