Event report

Past Event | Cross-Chamber Webinar: Medical Inflation Across ASEAN: Balancing Cost, Access and Sustainability

On Thursday 24 September, the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Singapore (FCCS) hosted a webinar gathering healthcare leaders from across the ASEAN region to address one of the most pressing challenges facing businesses and employees today: the accelerating rise of medical inflation.

As healthcare costs continue to outpace general inflation across the region, the conversation has shifted — from a purely clinical concern to a critical business and workforce issue. The webinar brought together senior voices from the insurance, diagnostics and occupational health sectors to examine the root causes of this trend and explore practical, sustainable solutions.

Speakers & Moderator

The session was moderated by Marine Queniart-Stojanovic, SID-SRAD, CEO at Granate Health, and featured the following panellists:

• Guillaume Mirabaud, CEO at AXA Thailand
• Satheesh Thangaraj, Ph.D, Head of Medical Affairs (ASEAN) at bioMérieux
• Dr. Atheswaren Ravindran, Chief Medical Advisor at International SOS

Key Takeaways

1. Medical inflation is becoming a business and workforce issue — not just a healthcare issue

Healthcare costs across ASEAN are rising significantly faster than general inflation, putting increasing pressure on insurers, employers and employees. For companies, this translates into rising benefit costs, higher premiums and greater out-of-pocket expenses for employees, while also affecting access to care more broadly. What was once viewed primarily as a healthcare system challenge is now firmly on the agenda of HR directors, CFOs and business leaders across the region.

2. Technology, chronic diseases and rising utilisation are driving costs — but they are not the whole story

New treatments, advanced medical technologies and diagnostics are undeniably improving patient outcomes — but they often add new layers of cost rather than replacing existing care pathways. At the same time, ageing populations and the growing prevalence of chronic diseases are increasing healthcare utilisation across the region. The panel also highlighted provider pricing practices and the lack of consistent regulation in certain markets as significant and sometimes overlooked contributors to inflation.

3. Prevention and early intervention must move from "nice to have" to a core cost-management strategy

One of the most consistent themes across the discussion was the critical role of prevention. Wellness programmes, early screening, primary care access and earlier diagnosis can all help identify health issues before they become significantly more expensive to treat. Yet prevention remains chronically underfunded relative to its potential impact. The challenge, as the panel noted, is making it a genuine and sustained priority within both employer benefit strategies and national healthcare budgets.

4. ASEAN-wide cooperation could help address fragmented healthcare supply chains and regulation

Supply chain disruptions, currency fluctuations, import tariffs and diverging national regulatory and reimbursement frameworks all contribute to higher healthcare costs and slower access to medicines and technologies across the region. The panel highlighted that greater regional cooperation — including joint health technology assessments and more harmonised regulatory processes — could meaningfully reduce these structural inefficiencies and improve healthcare access across ASEAN markets.

5. Containing inflation requires greater cost awareness and collaboration across the entire ecosystem

Co-payments, deductibles and teleconsultations can encourage more conscious and appropriate use of healthcare services — but simply transferring costs onto patients is not a long-term solution. Sustainable cost management ultimately requires all stakeholders — insurers, employers, healthcare providers, governments and patients — to work together on prevention, pricing transparency, appropriate care utilisation and smarter regulation, while keeping patient outcomes at the centre of every decision.

A Word of Thanks

The FCCS warmly thanks Marine Queniart-Stojanovic, Guillaume Mirabaud, Satheesh Thangaraj and Dr. Atheswaren Ravindran for their time, expertise and the quality of the conversation they brought to this session. We also extend our gratitude to all participants who joined and contributed to the discussion.

For more informations, please contact Vanessa Hobbs at vhobbs@fccsingapore.com