PATIENTS receiving treatment for Covid-19 at private hospitals will have to bear the cost themselves, said Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia president Dr Kuljit Singh.

He said patients will have to foot the bill or they can be covered by insurance if their policy provider is willing to cover Covid-19.

Kuljit said Covid-19 treatment will cost as much as treatment for any other viral infections.

“Private hospitals will charge just like any viral infections like H1N1 or any viral pneumonia. The fee doesn’t change,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“It is not going to be cheaper, definitely but whether it is going to be more expensive, I doubt it,” he said, adding that the cost will differ according to hospitals.

In a related development, Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali said the mechanism for insurance companies to cover Covid-19 expenses is still being fine-tuned.

“The mechanism is being refined by the Finance Ministry, the Health Ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia and the insurance industry.

“For now, the private sector is empowered to treat Covid-19 patients who can afford to pay for the medical costs and treatment themselves,” he said in a statement.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said expatriates, the business community or those with the financial means to receive treatment at private hospitals can opt for it.

Covid-19 patients opting for treatment at private hospitals do not need referrals from public health facilities.

A total of 95 private hospitals have agreed to come on board to accept Covid-19 cases, Noor Hisham said.

Questions arose on who would foot the bill, and if insurance companies will cover Covid-19 treatment, ever since the government announced it will enlist the private healthcare sector to assist with handling the pandemic.

In declaring the emergency, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the private healthcare sector can be co-opted in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Emergency Ordinance empowers authorities to take over resources from the private sector.

Muhyiddin said in a separate statement on January 17, that decanting patients to private hospitals will reduce the pressure on public hospitals and the heavily burdened health workers.

He said RM100 million has been allocated for the exercise.

Kuljit, however, said the allocation is to fund the decanting exercise from government to private hospitals.

“The RM100 million is only for them to use if they are going to transfer patients from government to private hospitals. That means it is for their patients and not the patients who walk into our hospitals,” he said.

This, Kuljit said, will apply to both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients. – January 26, 2021.