Budget 2020: MySalam expanded to middle-class income individuals

KUALA LUMPUR: From Jan 1, the mySalam protection plan will be expanded to cover middle-class income individuals who earn an annual gross income of up to RM100,000.

That means individuals who earn RM8,300 and below a month are eligible for the scheme.

The individuals will receive critical illness payment of RM4,000 and income replacement of RM50 a day up to 14 days when diagnosed and admitted in a government hospital.

This will benefit five million individuals.

Meanwhile, the coverage for low-income B40 group will be expanded to cover 45 critical illnesses and polio, compared with the current 36 critical illness.

The ages covered will also be increased to 65 compared with the current 55. This is expected to benefit 1.5 million individuals.

Individuals diagnosed with critical illness from this year receive a one-off RM8,000 payment under the mySalam scheme while those admitted could claim RM50 for every day that they are admitted for up to 14 days.

All recipients of Bantuan Sara Hidup, aged 18 to 55, are currently automatically covered.

Meanwhile, from next year, the government will also expand the Skim Peduli Kesihatan (Peka40) to include individuals from age 40.

PekaB40 for health screening and early intervention of early NCDs such as cancer and mental health problems has been provided for those aged 50 to 60 currently.

Up until now, 100,000 individuals had benefited from the initiative.

Health allocation for next year is RM30.6bil, an increase of RM1.9bil from this year's RM28.7bil allocation.