APHM said it had submitted its proposals to the health ministry in anticipation of the 2026 budget, which will be tabled in Parliament on Friday.
“These proposals take into account rising healthcare costs, growing case volumes and the urgent need for reforms, while reinforcing Malaysia’s position as a provider of world-class healthcare services both for medical tourism and in attracting foreign investment,” it said.
Among the measures proposed are an increased allocation for the hospital services outsourcing programme (HSOP) to help private hospitals provide diagnostic and imaging support to the public sector.
“In view of varying degrees of both inpatient and outpatient capacity among our member hospitals, especially for diagnostic tests and imaging, APHM suggests that the HSOP allocation be increased and expanded.
“We also hope that the HSOP programme can start earlier in the year, after allocations have been announced.
“This will allow private hospitals to play a complementary role and provide relief to the public healthcare system through utilisation of its existing spare capacity,” it said.
The association also called for a refinement of the sales and service tax structure to avoid double taxation within the healthcare ecosystem, proposing an exemption for inter-facility transactions involving licensed healthcare service providers under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.
“This includes services exchanged between hospitals and clinics or between service providers operating under the same corporate group or licence,” it said.
APHM proposed incentives or investment tax allowances for private hospitals investing in artificial intelligence, robotics and health IT infrastructure to support Malaysia’s digital healthcare transformation.
“These investments are critical for ensuring efficient, data-driven and interoperable national healthcare services in the long term,” it said.
To further boost Malaysia’s position as a regional medical tourism hub, it urged the government to introduce a “Malaysia Year of Medical Travel (MYMT) 2026 grant”.
“To support the MYMT 2026 initiative, we propose a matching grant scheme for hospitals listed under the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council to promote Malaysian healthcare services abroad.
“This grant could be up to RM10,000 per promotional trip, capped at three trips per year per hospital, and focussed on promotional activities within Asean countries,” it said.