Medical fees for non-citizens will increase by 70% - fees for outpatient treatment, including medicine, for instance, would be increased from RM23.50 to RM40 while the fees for specialist treatment would go up to RM132.60 from RM78.
Now Malaysians pay RM1 to see a doctor, and RM5 to see a specialist, and foreigners pay RM23.50 (and RM78 for a specialist) - and now they want to increase this to RM40 and RM132. Now, the rich will most likely go to the private clinics and hospitals, it is usually only the poorer people that goes to government clinics and hospitals - so clearly this move is WRONG. [Maybe, the Minister should tell us how many foreigners are not going to hospital now because they cannot afford the fees...and how many of them who died just because they need not seek healthcare]. Clearly Malaysia is looking at migrant workers - no problem if the employers are paying, but alas in many cases the money comes out from their own pocket...and remember Minimum Wage is RM900...BN Government says private sector workers less important than government workers - so different MINIMUM WAGES?
UNJUST, and the following categories should really be paying the same rate as Malaysians..
1) Foreign Spouses of Malaysians;
2) Those with Permanent Residency(PR) Status;
3) Migrant Workers - documented migrant workers, which are here because Malaysia needs them..
Malaysia must also consider what other countries will do when Malaysians there are seeking medical treatment. Will it be tit-for-tat? In that sense, when it comes to healthcare, should not Malaysia treat all human persons the same - that is charged at the same rate especially for emergency cases like accidents...Do we want to deter the poorer tourists?
ASEAN citizens should maybe be charged the same medical fees - since we are now ASEAN COMMUNITY?
Creating restrictions to healthcare like the 'extremely high medical fees' that Malaysia is charging foreigners would likely cause people who are sick (even with transmitable disease) seeking medical attention. So, when we have a thyphoid outbreak, TB, dengue fever, etc --- it will be the fault of this BN government of Malaysia because they decided to charge foreign nationals so high medical fees.
In terms of migrant workers, there maybe about 2.1 million documented migrants and maybe another 5 million undocumented migrants in Malaysia at any time > and so, making it difficult for them to access healthcare is really very FOOLISH.
Remember, as it is foreigners are already paying so much higher than Malaysians
Hospital Fees for Foreigners (Migrant Workers) at Public Hospitals Inreases - RM600 Deposit to be warded in 3rd Class?
58 Groups:- Employers must pay all medical cost of workers especially when it is a work-related accident or an occupational disease.
Migrant Workers should not be charged 1st class rates at government hospitals in Malaysia
October 26, 2015 MYT 6:59:05 AM
Medical fees for non-citizens to increase by 70%
by loh foon fong
PETALING JAYA: Medical fees for
non-citizens will increase by 70% when the Government stops subsidising
them beginning Jan 1, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.
The charges, he said, would reflect the real cost of treatment that the Government had to bear and would cover all treatments.
On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced in his Budget 2016 speech that the Government would impose full medical charges on non-citizens beginning next year.
Speaking to The Star, Dr Subramaniam said the fees for outpatient treatment, including medicine, for instance, would be increased from RM23.50 to RM40 while the fees for specialist treatment would go up to RM132.60 from RM78.
He said the ministry only wanted to cover its costs and the
fees to be charged would reflect that. He also said that the increase
should not be an issue for legal foreign workers as they were covered by
insurance.
The ministry had initially planned to increase the charges up to the full cost in three stages in three years but decided to do it in two years instead, he said.
On whether the fees collected would help increase the fund that the ministry needed for its expenditure, Dr Subramaniam said it would help a little.
With 2.1 million legal foreign workers, that would give the ministry an extra RM40mil to RM50mil a year, he said.
Undocumented workers who sought treatment from government health facilities, too, would be charged, he said.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said that the insurance for foreign workers only covered hospitalisation and not outpatient treatment and this would increase the cost to employers.
Although the workers were supposed to pay for their own outpatient treatment, most employers picked up the tab, he said.
With the hike, he also expressed concern that the cost of hospitalisation would also increase, thus jacking up the insurance premiums, which in many cases were borne by employers.
“If the Government wants to get more revenue, it should charge the fees on foreign citizens who are not legally employed because those employed had already paid a levy,” he said.
The Immigration Department collect a levy of RM850 to RM2,000 for each foreign worker and this should be channelled to the Health Ministry to cover their healthcare, he said.
He said with high medical costs, the workers might not want to seek treatment and this might have some consequences.
On another issue, Dr Subramaniam said the ministry would pool its resources in view of the slight shortfall in health budget allocation for next year.
The health budget allocated in Budget 2016 was RM23.031bil or 8.6% of the total budget, RM269mil less than this year’s allocation.
He said the ministry would reduce funding in other areas and give priority to preventive and primary care.
Dr Subramaniam also expressed happiness that more medicine have now been categorised as zero-rated in the Goods and Services Tax list.- Star, 26/10/2015
On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced in his Budget 2016 speech that the Government would impose full medical charges on non-citizens beginning next year.
Speaking to The Star, Dr Subramaniam said the fees for outpatient treatment, including medicine, for instance, would be increased from RM23.50 to RM40 while the fees for specialist treatment would go up to RM132.60 from RM78.
The ministry had initially planned to increase the charges up to the full cost in three stages in three years but decided to do it in two years instead, he said.
On whether the fees collected would help increase the fund that the ministry needed for its expenditure, Dr Subramaniam said it would help a little.
With 2.1 million legal foreign workers, that would give the ministry an extra RM40mil to RM50mil a year, he said.
Undocumented workers who sought treatment from government health facilities, too, would be charged, he said.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said that the insurance for foreign workers only covered hospitalisation and not outpatient treatment and this would increase the cost to employers.
Although the workers were supposed to pay for their own outpatient treatment, most employers picked up the tab, he said.
With the hike, he also expressed concern that the cost of hospitalisation would also increase, thus jacking up the insurance premiums, which in many cases were borne by employers.
“If the Government wants to get more revenue, it should charge the fees on foreign citizens who are not legally employed because those employed had already paid a levy,” he said.
The Immigration Department collect a levy of RM850 to RM2,000 for each foreign worker and this should be channelled to the Health Ministry to cover their healthcare, he said.
He said with high medical costs, the workers might not want to seek treatment and this might have some consequences.
On another issue, Dr Subramaniam said the ministry would pool its resources in view of the slight shortfall in health budget allocation for next year.
The health budget allocated in Budget 2016 was RM23.031bil or 8.6% of the total budget, RM269mil less than this year’s allocation.
He said the ministry would reduce funding in other areas and give priority to preventive and primary care.
Dr Subramaniam also expressed happiness that more medicine have now been categorised as zero-rated in the Goods and Services Tax list.- Star, 26/10/2015
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