While welcoming the government’s initiative to review private clinic consultation fees, MMA president Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira said it was equally important to address challenges related to the role of TPAs, which impacted a significant number of urban patients.

“A critical issue that must also be addressed is the role of TPAs, as 65% of urban patients receive healthcare benefits through these corporate arrangements.

“Many GPs are tied to TPA contracts that impose high administrative fees and fix low consultation rates. Together with delayed payments, this puts a strain on the financial viability of GP clinics,” he said in a statement.

Kalwinder said the financial burden on clinics had been compounded by stagnant consultation fees and rising operational costs.

“It is important to note that the current RM10-RM35 consultation fee range was originally proposed by MMA in 1992 before being incorporated into Schedule 7 of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 in 2006.

“However, there has been no adjustment of consultation fees at all since 1992, despite every other product and service having seen multiple increments over this period,” he said.

Kalwinder said private clinics were struggling to stay afloat due to the increasing cost of staff salaries, rentals, utilities and equipment, in addition to the increased costs associated with various regulations imposed over the years.

“The stagnant consultation fees and high operational costs have also led to many private clinics closing down over the past few years,” he said.

Kalwinder said the call for a fee review was not about imposing a sudden price hike, but ensuring a fair and sustainable adjustment that reflected the reality of operating costs while maintaining affordability for patients.

“Strengthening the private GP sector as the first point of care will also help reduce overall healthcare costs by improving patient referrals and reducing unnecessary hospital visits,” he said.

Kalwinder said in 2013, the government set consultation fees for medical officers in private hospital emergency departments at between RM30 and RM125.

“In 2015, the health ministry acknowledged that GP consultation fees should be aligned with this range, yet it was never implemented due to non-technical reasons,” he said.

It was reported yesterday that the health ministry was reviewing consultation fees for private general practitioners, which has remained unchanged for three decades.

In a written parliamentary reply, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said his ministry was collaborating with the statistics department to conduct simulations and determine a suitable price range.

“The ministry is in the process of reviewing consultation fees for private general practitioners, as these rates have not been revised since 2006,” he said, adding the review would also consider the impact of any fee adjustment on the consumer price index.