PETALING JAYA: Patients admitted to private hospitals are normally required to make a downpayment, said Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM) president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh.
He said private hospitals will not differentiate between Covid-19 patients and those suffering from other illnesses.
“If a patient has insurance and his illness is covered by the insurance company then there will be no need to make a downpayment.
“We deal with each patient on an individual basis and the downpayment required varies from hospital to hospital. APHM does not fix the amount a hospital asks a patient to pay.”
Kuljit said private hospitals are willing to treat Covid-19 patients but they must be willing to cover the treatment costs.
Some private hospitals have a huge capacity to treat Covid-19 patients, with smaller ones having three or four beds while bigger ones may have 10 or more rooms, he said, adding that private hospitals are not really equipped to tackle pandemic cases because of the way they are structured.
“We do not have huge manpower just to treat pandemic cases. Government hospitals on the other hand have more personnel.
Therefore it would be easier for them to move people around.”
Kuljit said if the government required private hospitals to step in and help they are more than willing to do so, adding that when it comes to insurance coverage, a patient needs to check with the company concerned to find out if he is covered for Covid-19.
Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia said most insurance policies do not cover pandemics due to the high risk.
