PRIVATE healthcare practitioners hope that the new government’s election promise to extend Selangor’s Skim Peduli Sihat nationwide can be done soon, as it is a win-win scheme for all, said the Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia.

Its deputy president, Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah, said the programme, which gives members of the B40 income group RM500 a year for basic treatment at private clinics, will help resolve the problem of underused private facilities, and reduce congestion at government healthcare facilities.

“We have urged the government for a long time now to use underutilised facilities at private clinics. This will also decongest public services at Klinik Kesihatan.

“But our suggestion fell on deaf ears. Worse, the government set up Klinik 1Malaysia which resulted in the government competing with private clinics,” Dr Raj told The Malaysian Insight.

Klinik 1Malaysia was a RM10 million programme launched under the Najib Razak administration in 2010 to provide cheap basic healthcare at RM1 only in residential areas nationwide.

However, there were reports that people were dissatisfied with the quality of treatment, as these clinics were run by assistant medical officers rather than doctors.

A nationwide rollout of Skim Peduli Sihat was one of Pakatan Harapan’s 10 promises for its first 100 days in office.

However, the government recently announced that it had to defer implementation until the country’s financial situation improved.

In Selangor, the programme received RM125 million annually from the state government.

The B40 group that benefits are those who earn a household income of RM3,900 or less. They can get treatment at any of the scheme’s panel clinics.

Selangor resident, 59-year-old retiree Ramli Ali, said his family liked the scheme as it helped them with additional savings.

“The assistance really helps my family financially because the money I used to spend on my medical now goes to my savings,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The shorter waiting times at private clinics are also a plus, he added.

Dr Raj said the time factor could make a big difference for the working urban poor, especially they are paid by the hour or day.

“They get cured and treated faster, meaning they can get back to work fast and it helps decongest government hospitals and health clinics.

“It’s a win-win situation for the government, private clinics, and patients,” he added.

It is not clear how much it would cost the new government to roll out the scheme nationwide. Putrajaya is currently focused on reducing national debt which it has put at RM1 trillion.

The scheme was introduced in Selangor in two categories – family and individual – with the purpose of reducing the cost of living for low income earners.

An eligible family receives RM500 coverage under one Peduli Sihat card, while an individual aged 21 and above earning RM1,500 a month or less is entitled to RM200 coverage per year.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said in an interview last week that he was optimistic that the government would be able to do a soft launch of the scheme within the first 100 days, despite the country’s debt burden.

“The Peduli Sihat scheme will see the light of day. At least within 100 days, we will embark on a soft launch or something like that,” he told The Star.

“I have had discussions with the National Health Financing section and I think the scheme can be implemented, looking at the mechanisms and funding,” he said. – June 14, 2018.