Consumer groups back medicine price display rule, say it tackles excessive mark-ups, protects rights

Malay Mail

02-05-2025

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — The implementation of medicine price display at private healthcare facilities and community pharmacies, effective May 1, has been described as a commendable move to strengthen consumer rights in making informed decisions.
National Consumer Action Council deputy president (International Policy and Strategy) Masrudi Abdul Rahman said clear price displays would enable consumers to compare prices and manage their healthcare budgets more efficiently.
'This initiative can also act as an indirect form of health education and serve as a starting point for wider discussions on product effectiveness, safety and whether a particular medicine or supplement is necessary or simply part of a trend,' he told Bernama.
The price display requirement is enforced under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Price Labelling for Medicines) Order 2025, pursuant to the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.
It applies to all medicines for human use, including controlled medicines, prescription and non-prescription drugs, traditional medicines, health supplements and extemporaneous preparations.
Public health policy researcher from the People's Health Forum Dr Lim Chee Han said a study on Medicine Price Monitoring in Malaysia conducted by the Health Ministry in 2022 showed that high medical costs and medicine prices stemmed from a lack of pricing transparency.
'Patients often learn the price of their medicines only after receiving the bill, which is unfair. This practice has become normalised in the medical sector.
'According to the study, price mark-ups could reach up to 200 per cent, a key factor contributing to high medical costs, which is unacceptable,' he said when contacted.
He expressed hope that the implementation of the Medicine Price Transparency Mechanism would help curb excessive pricing by empowering consumers to make price comparisons.
Meanwhile, several consumer organisations said in a joint statement that the new law is a critical step toward addressing the longstanding issues of price opacity and wide price variations that have disadvantaged consumers, and stressed that it must not be confused with price control.
'It is the fundamental right of a consumer to be informed, to be heard, to choose and to be safe with the goods which they consume. Medicines are an essential good where there is information asymmetry in their provision and consumption,' according to the statement.
The statement was jointly issued by the Consumers' Association of Penang, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations, Persatuan Pengguna Luar Bandar dan Ekologi Malaysia, Teras Pengupayaan Melayu and Persatuan Keselamatan Pengguna Kuala Lumpur.
They said that the price display mechanism addresses the fundamental right of the consumer or patient to be informed about the good being purchased.
'This policy focuses solely on the pricing of medicines, not on the fees or income of healthcare professionals such as doctors.
'Doctors' earnings relate to consultation fees, operational costs, and remuneration, which are separate financial considerations, involving different revenue streams, coming under different ministries and under different policy and regulatory frameworks,' according to the statement. — Bernama