Key takeaways
- Since 1 November 2026, Great Eastern General no longer accepts new individual medical applications; new Great Eastern medical cards come from Great Eastern Life or Great Eastern Takaful.
- Great Eastern Life's current medical cards, GREAT MediValue and SMART Health Protector, are investment-linked riders with an RM3,000,000 annual limit and no lifetime limit.
- Deductibles run from RM500 to RM20,000 per policy year; the RM20,000 Retirement Option drops to RM5,000 at 60 years next birthday without new underwriting.
- On GREAT MediValue, skipping The Great Journey clinic referral adds 20% co-insurance on top of the deductible, up to RM20,000 a year; emergencies are exempt.
- Entry is from 14 days old to 70 years next birthday; illnesses are covered after 30 days and specified illnesses such as diabetes after 120 days.
- Insurance charges are deducted monthly from the policy value and are not fixed; if the basic policy lapses, the medical card ends with it.
Which Great Eastern medical cards can you still buy in 2026?
"Great Eastern" is really three companies in Malaysia, and since 1 November 2026 they no longer all take new individual medical card applications. This is the first thing I check when someone asks me for "a GE medical card":
| Company | New individual medical card applications | If you already have a policy |
|---|---|---|
| Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad | Yes. Its current medical cards are investment-linked medical riders: GREAT MediValue and SMART Health Protector | Continues as normal |
| Great Eastern General Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad | Stopped from 1 November 2026. Applications received by 31 October 2026 are still processed | Coverage, renewals, claims and servicing continue under the policy terms |
| Great Eastern Takaful Berhad | Yes, takaful medical plans | Continues as normal |
The change at Great Eastern General is set out in Great Eastern's announcement, which also says that upgrades on existing General policies are still considered under the product rules, and lapsed policies can still ask for reinstatement.
The medical cards on Great Eastern Life's health insurance page are both investment-linked riders. You do not buy them on their own: the medical rider sits on a basic investment-linked life policy, and its insurance charges are deducted every month from the policy's investment value. That is why a GE Life medical card always comes with a small amount of life cover and an investment account attached.
Great Eastern Life also has a standalone, yearly renewable plan, Great Medic Shield 2. Its 2023 product disclosure sheet shows a RM300 deductible per disability, room and board of RM150 or RM200 a day and an annual limit of RM100,000 or RM150,000, renewable up to 99 years next birthday. It is not listed with the riders on the current product page, so ask before you plan around it.
GREAT MediValue vs SMART Health Protector: what are the key numbers?
Both riders share the same backbone. The differences are in the room rate, the reward, and one rule about where you are treated. These figures come from the GREAT MediValue brochure and the SMART Health Protector brochure:
| Feature | GREAT MediValue | SMART Health Protector |
|---|---|---|
| Overall annual limit | RM3,000,000, refreshed every policy year | RM3,000,000, refreshed every policy year |
| Lifetime limit | None | None |
| Room and board per day | RM200 | RM200 (Plan 200) or RM300 (Plan 300) |
| Room limit increase | RM50 more every 5 policy years, up to double the starting limit | Same |
| Deductible per policy year | RM500, RM2,500, RM5,000, RM20,000, or RM20,000 with Retirement Option | Same choices on Plan 200; RM500 on Plan 300 |
| Extra 20% co-insurance on hospital bills | Yes, capped at RM20,000 a year, if you skip The Great Journey pathway | No |
| Outpatient dengue, influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia and similar | 5% co-insurance (max RM500 a year) through a Great Journey clinic, otherwise 20% (max RM20,000) | 5% co-insurance, max RM500 a year |
| Pre and post hospital cover | 90 days before, 200 days after discharge | 90 days before, 200 days after discharge |
| Reward for staying healthy | Wellness Bonus: after every 2 claim-free years, 10% of the previous year's insurance charges goes back into your policy value | Wellness Reward wallet (RM500 deductible option only): RM3,000 credited after each claim-free policy year, up to 10 times |
| Cash at a government hospital | RM200 a day, up to 120 days a year | RM200 a day, up to 120 days a year |
| Cover ends at | 80 or 100 years next birthday, as chosen | 80 or 100 years next birthday, as chosen |
Both also pay, subject to reasonable and customary charges: ICU, surgery and specialist fees as charged, outpatient cancer treatment and kidney dialysis, MRI or PET scans up to RM5,000 a year, genomic testing for cancer, home nursing after discharge up to RM8,000 per disability, and up to 10 follow-up visits (RM150 each) to a chiropractor, speech or occupational therapist, or a registered traditional Chinese medicine practitioner after a hospital stay. Each also carries an RM20,000 accidental death benefit.
In plain words: GREAT MediValue is built around Great Eastern's clinic-first network, and rewards you for using it. SMART Health Protector leaves you free to walk into any hospital without the extra 20%, and Plan 300 suits families who want a higher room rate.
How does The Great Journey pathway change what you pay? A worked example
On GREAT MediValue, Great Eastern adds 20% co-insurance on top of the deductible, capped at RM20,000 a policy year, when you are admitted without a referral from a clinic listed under The Great Journey, or when you are treated at a clinic or hospital that is not on that list. The deductible and the co-insurance do not apply to emergency treatment, to treatment at a government healthcare facility, or to outpatient follow-ups for cancer or kidney dialysis.
Here is what that means for one hospital stay. Example only. Assumptions: an RM30,000 eligible bill, all within the plan limits, an RM500 deductible, and this is the first claim of the policy year.
| Route | You pay | The policy pays |
|---|---|---|
| GREAT MediValue: Great Journey clinic first, then admitted to a Great Journey hospital | RM500 | RM29,500 |
| GREAT MediValue: straight to hospital, or a hospital outside The Great Journey | RM500 + 20% of RM29,500 = RM6,400 | RM23,600 |
| SMART Health Protector Plan 200: any panel hospital | RM500 | RM29,500 |
| Emergency admission, either plan | RM0 | RM30,000 |
So GREAT MediValue works well if you are happy to see a listed GP first whenever an admission is not urgent, and if the hospitals you trust near home are on the list. Before you choose, open Great Eastern's panel locator and check the hospitals around you; my guide to Great Eastern panel hospitals shows how to search it and how the guarantee letter (GL) works at admission.
Which deductible should you choose: RM500, RM5,000 or RM20,000?
The deductible is the amount you pay each policy year before the rider pays. It is counted per policy year, not per admission, so two stays in the same policy year share one deductible. The higher the deductible, the lower the monthly insurance charges. Great Eastern prints how much lower in the SMART Health Protector brochure:
| Deductible per policy year | Who Great Eastern says it suits | Insurance charges compared with RM500 (Plan 200) |
|---|---|---|
| RM500 | You want to pay little out of pocket when you claim, and accept higher charges | Baseline |
| RM2,500 | You want some savings on charges | 10% to 13% lower |
| RM5,000 | You want bigger savings on charges | 25% to 31% lower |
| RM20,000 | You want extra cover on top of an existing medical plan or employee benefits | 41% to 50% lower |
| RM20,000 with Retirement Option | You want lower out-of-pocket costs after retirement: it switches to RM5,000 at 60 years next birthday with no new underwriting (entry up to 59 next birthday) | 28% to 49% lower |
My own rule of thumb is simple: choose a deductible you could pay from savings tomorrow without borrowing. The RM20,000 options make sense mainly for people with good company medical cover today. Remember that company cover normally stops when you leave the job or retire, which is exactly what the Retirement Option is designed for.
Investment-linked medical card: what to check before you sign
Most problems I see with medical riders come from not understanding how they are paid for. Before you sign, make sure you are comfortable with each of these points from the product disclosure sheet:
- Charges are not fixed. Renewal is guaranteed, the cost of insurance is not. It is pooled with other policyholders and can rise for everyone in the pool, even if you never claim. The PDS shows projections at 7% and 10% medical inflation a year.
- The policy value has to keep up. Charges are taken from your investment value every month. If it runs short, you may be asked to pay more to keep the policy going. If the basic policy lapses, is surrendered or is terminated, the medical rider ends with it.
- Waiting periods: 30 days for illnesses and 120 days for specified illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes. Accidents are not subject to the 30-day wait.
- Pre-existing conditions are excluded, and incomplete answers to health questions can lead to a rejected claim or a cancelled policy.
- 15-day free look: cancel within 15 days of receiving the policy and the units deducted for insurance charges are put back, less any medical examination costs.
- Who can apply: from 14 days old up to 70 years next birthday, and an unborn child from 13 to 36 weeks of pregnancy. For parents near the age limit, see my guide on medical cards for parents over 60.
- Abroad: treatment outside Malaysia is covered at Malaysian reasonable and customary charges, but only within 90 consecutive days away (Singapore and Brunei are exceptions).
- Tax: LHDN's Form BE notes for YA 2025 allow up to RM4,000 a year for education and medical insurance together, and for a rider only the rider's premium counts. This is general information, not tax advice.
Already a Great Eastern policyholder: upgrades, e-Medical Card and the General Insurance change
Many people searching for a GE medical card already own a Great Eastern policy. These are the tasks I help with most:
- Download your e-Medical Card. The e-Medical Card guest login only needs your IC number and date of birth. Show it at a panel hospital's admission counter. Cashless admission is subject to Great Eastern's checks; if no guarantee letter is issued, you can still claim on a reimbursement basis. The HealthCare Services hotline is 1300-1300-18, 24 hours a day.
- Add or upgrade a medical rider on your existing investment-linked policy. This goes through the form "Request for Contractual Changes with Health Declaration". For investment-linked policies, Great Eastern gives the result of the sustainability test within 14 days of a complete application, and warns that higher charges may leave the policy value short before the end of the term (Great Eastern's benefit change page).
- Convert a standalone medical plan up or down, or appeal to reduce or remove a loading or exclusion, with the same health declaration form.
- Keep a Great Eastern General medical policy. If you bought one before November 2026, it keeps renewing and paying claims. Do not cancel it to buy a new one until the new plan is approved and past its waiting periods.
If your renewal notice shows a big jump, read my guide on what to do with a premium increase letter before you change anything.
Not sure which Great Eastern medical card fits? How I can help
Choosing well is mostly about your own numbers, not the brochure. When you WhatsApp me, I usually ask for:
- the ages of everyone you want to cover, and any health conditions you know about;
- any medical cover you already have, including company group cover;
- the hospitals you would actually use, for example around Puchong, Seri Kembangan, Cheras or Kuala Lumpur;
- a monthly budget you can keep up for the long term.
Then I show you the options side by side: GREAT MediValue or SMART Health Protector, which deductible, Plan 200 or Plan 300, and a sales illustration of how the charges move as you get older, so nothing surprises you later. If you already have medical cards from Great Eastern or another insurer, I start with a free policy review so you do not pay twice for the same cover. I explain in Mandarin, English or Cantonese, and there is no hard selling: if your current plan is fine, I will tell you.