KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's private healthcare costs are still the cheapest in the Asean region, said Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh.
Speaking on BFM Radio's 'Morning Brief' today, Dr Kuljit said 90 per cent of patients who go to private healthcare providers could afford their treatment.
"Malaysia seems to charge the lowest in private healthcare pricing for any procedure in Asean, and has been the lowest for years.
"However, inflation has caught up over the last few years and it has become unsustainable to keep the prices low."
He said the increasing cost of private medical healthcare was not exactly because hospitals were charging more, but was due to the rising prices of equipment and items being procured.
"The equipment, medication… all these prices are high for us because we procure it from outside of Malaysia. We are not a medical equipment or pharmaceutical producer.
"So with this, there is already inflation before we start our business and deliver bills to our patients," he added.
Dr Kuljit reiterated that despite this, Malaysia's private healthcare costs were still one of the most cost-effective in the Asean region, making the country a top medical tourism destination.
Comparing available data online, Dr Kuljit said heart surgery in Malaysia, for example, was still much cheaper than in other Asean countries.
He added that in any part of the world, healthcare prices had not seen a decline.
"I have not seen anywhere in the world where healthcare costs have come down, it only escalates.
"This depends on the economics of the country, and how the entire healthcare system structure works, but with newer equipment and modernisation of healthcare delivery, there will be increases."
Meanwhile, Dr Kuljit said private hospitals were required by law to itemise every single item being charged.
He said unlike in other countries, private healthcare providers do not charge hospital fees.
"And because there aren't any hospital fees, there are charges for every item when we deliver treatments to patients. This is the only industry in Malaysia where every item is enumerated.
"You go to a restaurant, no one is going to tell you how much onion, or the price of oil required to make your nasi goreng, but in healthcare, we have to do that.
"But that doesn't mean now that everyone should be comparing and disputing every line of the bill, we should look at the total, and that's more important," he added.
Dr Kuljit also denied claims that hospitals charge patients who use medical insurance more, adding that this would need to be proven.
"This allegation is often heard and largely is not true. If it's true it needs to be proven and it is very difficult to prove.
"Most renowned and reputable hospitals in Malaysia don't do that, they have governance within hospitals to make sure there is no dual pricing of such."
Last week, chief executive of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) expressed bewilderment after being charged RM18,837.55 for a minor hernia operation at a Kuala Lumpur private hospital.
He said he was taken aback by the 13-page bill for the procedure performed in May, and said the bill included 95 line items across 13 categories.