Keep fees reasonable to prevent heart patients from flooding govt hospitals, IJN told
MCA has called for the National Heart Institute (IJN) to keep its proposed hike fee to a maximum of 5% to not to burden patients especially those from B40 households struggling with rising living costs, in particular, private healthcare and insurance premiums.
This is following IJN’s announcement on Oct 11 that it is targeting to raise fees by between 10% and 40% for public patients covered by the government and that the cardiac centre’s charges have been unchanged for more than two decades since 2003.
IJN is owned by the Minister of Finance (MOF) Incorporated (MOF Inc.).
According to party deputy president Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, any spike in fees should be capped at a maximum of 5% and must be accompanied by a commitment and exercise to improve medical care and resources for patients and better remuneration for staff.
“Our concern aligns with the Health Ministry’s view that rising fees may cause more heart patients to seek treatment at government hospitals, further straining an already overworked system,” he remarked.
“The current waiting lists as reported on July 17 are alarming: Sultan Idris Shah Serdang Hospital has approximately 1,000 patients waiting for urgent, life-saving heart surgeries, while Penang General Hospital has about 850 patients in the same situation.”
Mah said the situation is exacerbated by the limited number of cardiothoracic surgeons available to serve the public – currently, there are only 14 surgeons across the seven public hospitals performing heart surgeries in Malaysia.
“Notably, three of these hospitals – located in Kota Bharu, Kuantan, and Kota Kinabalu – have only one surgeon each, which significantly limits our capacity to meet the needs of heart patients,” he stated.
“In light of these challenges, we urge IJN to consider the broader impact of its proposed fee increase and prioritise a sustainable solution that supports both patient care and the well-being of our healthcare professionals.” – FocusM Oct 16, 2024
