Private hospitals have seen about a 30% drop in the number of patients as they turn to the already over-stretched public hospitals, said Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM) president Datuk Dr Jacob Thomas.
He said patients turned to public hospitals as there was no GST and treatment was almost free, making them an affordable and attractive alternative.
Dr Jacob urged the Health Ministry to collaborate with the private sector since patients faced long waiting times for MRIs, and CT and PET Scans, while most private hospitals had excess capacity.
“We understand that 25% of patients seen in public hospitals have access to private healthcare insurance. We can manage them in our private hospitals,” he said.
He added that some hospitals offered the ministry the services at reduced prices.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said that when patients were unable to afford private hospitals, they fell back on public hospitals.
“Because of the co-existence, the issue of affordability to a great extent, has been met although there are challenges,” he said.
“For the long term, the ministry is formulating voluntary health insurance”, he said.
Previously, Dr Subramaniam said that the scheme was voluntary and aimed at ensuring that the cost of private medical treatment in the country was reasonable and affordable.
/theSTAR 27-07-2017
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