KUALA LUMPUR: The government will be taking a case-by-case look in reimbursing those who had to seek treatment for Covid-19 at private hospitals, the Dewan Rakyat was toldy today.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pix) said this when replying to a question from Datin Paduka Tan Yee Kew (PH-Wangsa Maju) who wished to know if the government would reimburse Covid-19 patients as they had no choice but to get treatment, which cost nearly RM400,000, at private hospitals since public hospitals were already full.
“These patients could not go to government hospitals as they were full. They had no choice but to go to private hospitals and were slapped with high fees of around RM400,000. It was not by choice, so can they get reimbursement?,” she said.
She then presented a case in which she said the patient was charged that amount by the private hospital after being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Khairy said the ministry will look at the cases to see if they could help to settle these Covid-19 patients’ bills as he acknowledged the situation when the Covid-19 cases surged especially in the Klang Valley area.
Later, Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) asked why the ministry was not able to use the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) to request for beds from private hospitals.
Khairy replied that his ministry had successfully negotiated with 72 private facilities and allocated funds to the states so that the patients could be treated there as well.
“Of course, the Health director-general has the power of requisition, but we only use it when the situation is desperate. So far, we negotiated for outsourcing services. So far, we have allocated RM40 million to be distributed among the 14 states,” he said.
