KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM) is committed to working with the government to find long-term solutions to tackle the rising cost of healthcare.
Its president, Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh, said Bank Negara Malaysia's interim measures to ease the burden on policyholders facing increased premiums were only temporary actions and more effective and sustainable solutions were needed.
"APHM's priority is the wellbeing of patients needing treatment.
"We are committed to collaborating with the government to achieve evidence-based, long-term solutions to address healthcare cost inflation.
"We are engaging with key government stakeholders and will provide further updates once these discussions are concluded," he told Berita Harian today.
Kuljit said APHM and insurance and takaful operators were ready to contribute to a RM60 million fund aimed at accelerating healthcare reform.
He said this in response to recent revelations by Bank Negara and the Health Ministry about discrepancies in medical charges. It was found that insured patients paid up to four times more than those paying out of pocket.
A joint statement by PKR members of parliament highlighted examples such as dengue patients using a letter of guarantee being charged RM4,978, while "pay-and-claim" patients paid only RM1,288 — a fourfold difference.
Similarly, pneumonia patients using a guarantee letter paid RM6,859, compared with RM2,654 for pay-and-claim patients — a threefold difference.
Cataract surgery for insured patients costs RM6,000, whereas uninsured patients pay RM3,000 — a twofold difference.
In another instance, accident victims admitted to private hospitals were charged RM200,000, compared with RM70,000 at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz for treating a broken leg — a threefold difference.
The MPs said they also received complaints about non-transparent and exorbitant charges imposed by private hospitals.
The statement was issued by Sim Tze Tzin (Bayan Baru), Jimmy Pua (Tebrau), Taufiq Johari (Sungai Petani), Chiew Choon Mun (Miri) and R. Yuneswaran (Segamat), along with Senator Bob Manolan.