No more hidden meds costs

The Star

01-05-2025

PETALING JAYA: From today, private healthcare providers will be required to display medicine prices at their facilities.
This is after the government gazetted the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Price Marking for Drugs) order.
The main requirement is the price list, which must be displayed in a physical form and must be accessible and visible to customers and patients.
Failing to comply with provisions of the order will leave individual healthcare providers liable to a fine of up to RM50,000.
As for corporate bodies, the maximum fine is RM100,000.
According to the order, for drugs that are visible to custo­mers and are kept on display, there must be a price tag or label.
For those that are kept behind the counter or not visible to customers, a price list must be prepared.
The price list will also contain information such as the generic name or active ingredient of the drug, strength, trade name and the selling price per unit, per unit weight or the measure of the drug.
The price list will have to be displayed in a physical form such as through electronic media, electronic screens and any suitable tools and devices.
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The condition is the price list must be accessible and visible to consumers.
The list must be in English or Bahasa Malaysia. If it is not in either language, then it must be translated into English or Bahasa Malaysia.
All prices must also be displayed in ringgit and sen.
'If the recommended retail price of the drug is displayed on any part of the drug, such recommended retail price does not form part of the price marking or the list of selling prices of the drugs under this order,' read the order.
In a joint statement, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Ali said this initiative is in line with the government's commitment for price transparency.
They said the move will allow the people to make informed choices and make price comparisons.
Facilities that sell, supply or administer medicines as well as community pharmacies will be subjected to the rule. These are facilities that come under the purview of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.
The price list has to be displayed on a catalogue, notice boards or electronic screens.
As for enforcement, for the initial phase, the government will take an educational approach for the first three months.
The ministers also gave assurance that the enforcement will be done in a considerate and effective way to allow all facilities adapt the new measure in phases.
The enforcement will be carried out by the Health Ministry with the assistance of the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.
The move has met with a lot of resistance from the private healthcare sector where practitioners claimed that the move will increase cost and administrative burden.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) will march from the Health Ministry to the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya in protest over the new law mandating the display of price lists.
The Doctors Betrayed: The Long Walk to Putrajaya march organised by the MMA will take place on May 6.
'We demand consultation. We demand justice. Join the march. Make your voice heard,' read the poster of the march.
Sources close to the development told The Star that the association is pooling all resources for the march, adding that most state chapters will participate.
In a post on X, the medical group said that they are demanding consultation and justice from the government.
'We demand consultation. We demand justice. @anwaribrahim-hear us,' they said in the post in which Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was tagged.