Latest news with #consultationFees
Free Malaysia Today
08-06-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Don't deregulate GP fees without floor price, warns doctors' group
The Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia supported setting consultation fees at between RM50 and RM80, with reviews every three years. PETALING JAYA : The Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia (MPCAM) has warned the government against deregulating general practitioner (GP) consultation fees without setting a minimum rate. MPCAM president Dr Soo Tai Kang said such a move would lead to unhealthy competition in the industry, particularly in urban areas where 80% of GP clinics operate and depend heavily on panel patients. 'Deregulation may seem market-friendly, but in reality, it gives too much power to large corporate payers. 'This could lead to price undercutting, threaten clinic sustainability and ultimately compromise patient care,' he said in a statement today. Soo said MPCAM supported setting consultation fees at between RM50 and RM80, with reviews every three years. The current rates of between RM10 and RM35 have remained unchanged for 33 years. Soo also criticised the role of third-party administrators (TPAs), which manage corporate-panel arrangements between companies and clinics. Soo said their practices are harming the clinics' viability. 'TPAs deduct up to 15% in administrative charges, impose strict limits on medication pricing and often delay payments — all of which strain clinic cash flow,' he said. Soo dismissed claims that raising GP fees would significantly increase healthcare costs. Instead, he argued it would reduce clinics' reliance on medication mark-ups. Competition in the saturated private clinic sector would help keep fees reasonable, he added. On June 5, the Malaysian Medical Association also called on the government to approve a long-pending increase in GP consultation fees, warning that delays were threatening the survival of primary care clinics nationwide. Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said on May 3 that the matter would be resolved 'within one month', and that a Cabinet memorandum and circular had already been prepared.
Free Malaysia Today
07-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
PM wants health ministry to clarify law used for drug price display rule
Fahmi Fadzil said the government was reviewing the part of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 pertaining to consultation fees imposed by private clinics. PUTRAJAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called on the health minister to explain the use of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 for the implementation of the mandatory display of drug prices, government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said today. Fahmi, who is also communications minister, said some quarters had asked why this Act, instead of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998, was being used for the new policy. 'The prime minister has instructed that this matter be clarified promptly,' he told a press conference at his ministry here today. He also said health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad had informed the Cabinet that the Seventh Schedule to the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 – which pertains to consultation fees imposed by private clinics – was under review. 'A Cabinet paper has already been prepared and is expected to be circulated within one to two weeks, after which the matter will be brought back to the Cabinet for a decision,' he added. Yesterday, more than 600 doctors and private general practitioners (GPs) gathered near the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to protest the mandatory display of drug prices under a law unrelated to the health sector. Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president-elect Dr R Thirunavukarasu, along with nine other representatives, submitted a memorandum on the issue to the PMO. He reiterated that the new rule should be enforced under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act. The doctors urged the government not to compare professional services provided by GPs with retailers and sundry shops in implementing the policy. The health ministry had said that the use of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act for drug price displays aimed to promote transparency and affordability, not disrupt the work of private GPs. In their memorandum, the GPs demanded that the government remove private clinics from the purview of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act and review the consultation fees of GPs. Consultation fees have remained unchanged for the last 30 years. They also want the health ministry to regulate third-party administrators' control over private clinics and reassess foreign ownership in the healthcare sector.
Free Malaysia Today
06-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
MMA confirms peaceful march against price-display rule on Tuesday
Private general practitioners said they were disappointed and frustrated over the many unanswered questions regarding the implementation of medicine price display. PETALING JAYA : The protest rally by private general practitioners (GP) against the implementation of the price display rule and decades of stagnant consultation fees will proceed as planned on May 6 in Putrajaya, says the Malaysian Medical Association. The MMA's private practitioners section chairman, Dr Parmjit Singh Kuldip Singh, said the rally will conclude with a march to the Prime Minister's Office to hand over a memorandum. He added that the relevant authorities, including the police, have been officially informed about the gathering on Tuesday. 'The symbolic walk is to voice the medical fraternity's deep disappointment and frustration over the many unanswered questions regarding the implementation of medicine price display and the unresolved issue of stagnant private GP consultation fees. 'We wish to reiterate that doctors are not against price transparency but are strongly opposed to the use of Act 723 on the medical profession,' he said in a statement today, referring to the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 under the domestic trade and cost of living ministry. Yesterday, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the health ministry would not prevent GPs from taking part in the planned march. However, he hoped that the doctors would understand that he and the ministry had been fighting on their behalf for the GPs' fee review. The MMA had previously criticised Putrajaya for going ahead with the enforcement of the mandatory drug price display rule, and particularly for failing to consult GPs and implementing the policy under a non-health related law. They argue that the rule should fall under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 and be delayed until the GPs' consultation fees have been reviewed as promised. Yesterday, Dzulkefly said the review of the GPs' consultation fees would be finalised by next month, with a Cabinet memorandum and circular expected to be tabled soon. Consultation fees have remained unchanged in the last 30 years. On April 30, Dzulkefly and domestic trade and cost of living minister Armizan Mohd Ali announced that the mandatory price labelling for private healthcare providers would take effect on May 1.
