PUTRAJAYA’S move to deregulate consultation fees for private clinics and hospitals will see doctors and dentists in the private sector determining their own rates.

The move is aimed at ensuring health practitioners improve the standards of service by allowing market forces to regulate competition, Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said when making the announcement earlier this month.

Deregulation of the fee structure will involve a few regulations to ensure transparency for patients but these rules are still being fine-tuned.

Deregulation of fees has been a topic for several years now. It was tabled to a special cabinet committee called the National Cost of Living Action Council last year.

It was raised to the healthcare industry in August 2017 at a town hall between the Health Ministry and medical practitioners, who have been pushing an upwards revision of fees.

Deputy director-general of health (medicine) Dr Azman Abu Bakar said the fee structure of RM10 to RM35 had not been revised for 12 years, the last time being 2006.

Among the medical bodies at the town hall were the Malaysian Medical Association, Federation of Malaysian Consumers’ Associations (Formca) and Malaysian Muslim Consumers’ Association (PPIM).

Nothing happened until the ministry’s announcement earlier this month.

But its decision, although welcomed by medical practitioners, was too late to save some 500 private clinics that have closed because of poor business and increased operating costs.

Responses to the ministry’s decision have been largely positive, with organisations representing the medical fraternity obviously welcoming it.

MMA said allowing the market to regulate fees and the quality of services is good for the industry. It urged doctors, however, not to undercut with their fees as this could compromise services.

The Malaysian Consumer Protection and Welfare Board (LPKPM), meanwhile, urged private clinics to display their consultation fees to help patients make comparisons and informed choices.

Health policy think-tank Galen Centre said Putrajaya’s “bold move” will prevent healthcare fees from escalating in the long run as free market competition will push private practices to provide quality, value and professionalism to stay in business.

MCA youth, however, said it is concerned that deregulating fees will disadvantage lower-income or poor patients. It said the government should revive Klinik 1Malaysia in tandem with this move, so that needy patients could still access healthcare. – December 19, 2019.