As the number of Covid-19 cases increases day by day, most public hospitals are running out of space to accommodate patients. At the same time, some Covid patients are opting to get treatment in private hospitals.
However, it has been disclosed that Covid-19 patients who opt to go to private hospitals for treatment will have to bear the treatment costs themselves just like patients with other illnesses there.
Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh, president of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) told Berita Harian that the current agreement between the government and private hospitals for now only involves outsourcing non-Covid-19 patients to private hospitals. This is done with the aim to provide more space in public hospitals, consequently enabling treatment for more Covid-19 patients.
Dr. Kuljit Singh
This is in response to media reports that claimed the treatment cost of Covid-19 patients in private hospitals is extremely high, where patients were asked to pay deposits ranging from RM10,000 to RM50,000. Despite the high cost, Dr Kuljit emphasised that the value is the same as the cost borne by the government in public hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients who require expensive equipment and medicines that are outsourced globally.
He also added that private hospitals are not trying to make a profit via the outsourcing agreement. “The claim that the private hospitals are making huge profits, especially during this pandemic is not true. Profits are there, but small and most of the costs charged are the real value of treatment to patients,” he said.
For illustration purpose only
There are 38 private health care centres in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Negeri Sembilan that are ready to accept and place 800 non-Covid-19 patients involved in the outsourcing process to enable government hospitals to accommodate better for Covid-19 patients and subsequently reduce the number of patients.
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