“Socso is currently the largest provider of dialysis, covering nearly 18,000 patients this year and will continue to receive applications by contributors who require such aid.
“Therefore, any insinuation of withdrawal of the dialysis aid is misleading to the public,” John Riba Marin, Socso’s deputy chief executive (operations) said in a statement today.
He was referring to a statement made by MTUC secretary-general J Solomon on Socso’s withdrawal of dialysis entitlement for contributors in an FMT report today.
Solomon told Socso not to go ahead with its decision to impose new conditions that he said would limit access or deny scores of contributors from obtaining free dialysis treatment.
He said the revised terms of eligibility would impact new contributors and beneficiaries registered under Socso’s Invalidity Pension, Employment Injury and Invalidity Grant schemes who suffer from chronic kidney failure.
He said that under the revised conditions, eligibility for free dialysis was now tied to the applicant’s tenure and quantum of contributions to Socso.
Marin said Socso regretted the comments by MTUC with regards to the availability and entitlement for the dialysis aid to Socso contributors.
“The hemodialysis aid is a benevolent facility provided to Socso contributors who suffer from end-stage renal failure, first introduced in 1999 to aid Socso contributors in financing the cost of dialysis.
“Although the organisation is not legally bound to provide such a facility, the aid was continuously provided in view of the need of contributors requiring hemodialysis. This was a decision beyond the responsibility of the organisation, as stipulated under Section 57 of the Employees Social Security Act 1969.”
He said to further enhance the hemodialysis aid, the organisation had extended the facility by also covering for erythropoietin injections, immunosuppressants for kidney transplant recipients, different modalities of peritoneal dialysis and annual donations of hemodialysis machines to dialysis centres throughout the country.
The providence of any benefit or aid via a social security system such as Socso is based on the principle of pooling of resources and sharing of risk, he added.
“It must therefore be realised that the benefits provided by the organisation are paid for by the social security fund contributed diligently by all employees in the country.”
Therefore, it is pertinent that the benefits be provided to contributors who rightfully deserve such benefits, and the principle of justice prevails, he added.
Marin said the Socso Board, in evaluating the dialysis aid, had looked into the eligibility and the sustainability of the social security fund in providing such aid.
“The contribution made is an important criteria to be considered compared to a lifetime aid such as dialysis. Hence, the new directive quoted in the statement was to ensure that the recipient of the dialysis aid meets the minimum qualifying criteria of contribution.
“Such a move would ensure that the recipients are partial to the pooling of resources together with all the employees in the country who are contributors to the social security fund.”
He estimated that the treatment cost will continue to escalate over the years. The solution to this health financing issue must therefore be looked at by all health, welfare and social organisations in the country, rather than focus on a single entity such as Socso, he added.