PETALING JAYA: The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) is ready to explain to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) for Health on the issue of rising medical costs and health insurance premiums.
“We are prepared to appear before the PSSC. We have already presented to Bank Negara Malaysia and the Health Ministry on this issue,” APHM president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said.
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“We are transparent, and all details of our income and expenses are clear, as most of the (private healthcare) groups are public-listed,” he said when contacted.
However, the association has yet to be called up by the PSSC on the matter.
Dr Kuljit said private hospitals reinvest a huge portion of their income to maintain standards and upkeep.
“The average net profit is 10%. How much lower can we get?” he added.
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He also said the rising medical cost is attributable to high equipment costs, medication, higher nursing salaries, and the increasing cost of maintaining buildings to meet medical standards and medico-legal costs.
According to the APHM fact book, the average cost per inpatient last year increased by 11% from the past three years, while outpatient costs increased by 9%.
Private hospitals have also mitigated medical inflation through cost containment measures, the fact book noted.
“Global macroeconomic challenges have created upward inflationary pressures across the economy.
“Consequently, private hospitals have implemented cost-containment measures, such as procurement excellence, prudence in medical practices, cross-subsidisation efforts, and leveraging technology to streamline operational redundancies, to mitigate the impact of healthcare costs on patients.
“These cost-containment measures have allowed overall healthcare costs (to patients) to be mitigated to about 4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) (about 10% overall increase) between 2020 and 2023, which would have otherwise been about 12% CAGR (about 40% overall increase) if entirely subjected to the full impact of medical inflation,” it stated.
On Nov 14, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad urged private healthcare facilities to take more decisive action to control the escalating cost of medical treatment, which has risen sharply in recent years.
He also expressed concern over Malaysia’s medical inflation rate, currently at 12.5%, which was more than double the global average.
