Its president, Dr Kuljit Singh, said private hospitals will work with the advisory council and provide knowledge and suggestions on how they can contribute to the drafting of the white paper.
“Private hospitals have close to 50 years of experience in this country. Even though they do not have representatives on the advisory council, they will lend their support to the health ministry and the council,” he said in a statement.
Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin unveiled the line-up of the advisory council yesterday. He said the council, formally set up on Aug 10, is co-chaired by former health minister Dr S Subramaniam and Axiata Group chairman Shahril Ridza Ridzuan.
Khairy said the main role of the council is to contribute ideas, recommendations and advice to the ministry in the process of developing the white paper.
Kuljit said the involvement of Subramaniam and Shahril will be a great asset to the drafting of the white paper “as it will strengthen the salient features of its objective”.
However, he said economists and healthcare financial experts should also have been picked “in order to have the desired outcomes”.
“The main thrust of the white paper should be on the restructuring of public healthcare in order to provide easy and seamless healthcare to all citizens,” he said.
He said this could be carried out with smart partnership with the private healthcare sector.
“Private healthcare comprises about 43% of the total expenditure on health as reported in the Malaysia National Health Accounts: Health Expenditure Report 1997-2019, with 35% private household out-of-pocket and 8% private insurance. This has significantly reduced the government’s expenditure, particularly for those who can afford private healthcare,” he said.
“Currently, the private healthcare cost in Malaysia is the lowest in the region despite the increasing cost of imported healthcare devices and products.
“The contribution of the 220-plus private hospitals in urban and suburban parts of the country has increased the accessibility to healthcare for many citizens and non-citizens. Medical tourism is an additional source of income for the country that the white paper should consider to strengthen it further.”