Is the increase in current medical fees, following the amendment to the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998, acceptable? According to the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), it is.
According to MMA’s President, Datuk Dr NKS Tharmaseelan, the association had been looking forward to the increase for over 12 years. This is because the prices of drugs, laboratory fees and petrol have all been increased.
“There is a misconception that GPs are raking in lots of profits when they were actually scraping the bottom of the barrel these days,” he told the Star.
He also said that more than 500 clinics had closed down or had been bought over by other chain clinics and business corporations.
Based on the amendment, new consultation fees for general practitioners have increased to between RM30 and RM125. Before, it was RM10 to RM35. A visit to a specialist may have cost you around RM125 for consultations, but now, expect to pay around RM235 for consultation alone. Fees for medical procedures have increased between 14 to 18%.
According to Dr Tharmaseelan, doctors do not get all the fees charged to a patient. For short surgical procedures, the ratio of fees being split between a specialist and hospital is about 40:60 of the total bill. For more complex procedures and long staying patients, the ratio is as low as 20-25% for specialist. The rest, of course, goes to the hospital.
He also said that third party administrators such as managed care organisations (MCOs) will usually negotiate a discount of 10 to 15% on a doctor’s fees for hospitals, without the consent of the doctor. He feels that there should be more transparency for these charges.
Dr Jim Loi, President of Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia says that before, a GP in a standalone clinic could earn around RM40, 000 a month in the Klang Valley. But that number has now dropped to RM15, 000. He also feels that it is worrying that drug prices are increasing every few months as doctors have been absorbing the cost so far.
Story and quotes from: The Star
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