From RM1 to RM60, activist urges govt to clear air over new fee for HIV tests

The cost of HIV tests at government hospitals is expected to rise with the implementation of a new fee structure gazetted in 2014.

PETALING JAYA: A HIV activist has urged the authorities to come clean on plans to impose a RM60 charge on Malaysians seeking HIV screening at government hospitals, where only a token RM1 fee is currently charged.

Martin Choo said he was informed by reliable sources that the health ministry had begun charging the amount as a new fee structure gazetted five years ago came into effect.

Under the Fees (Medical) (Cost of Services) Order 2014, three tests linked to HIV will now cost between RM50 and RM150.

They are the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome HIV Antibody (RM60), HIV antigen test (RM50) and HIV antibody confirmation test (RM150).

Choo, who heads the Asia Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organisations, claimed that at least one government facility in Kuala Lumpur had been asked to impose the fee, but said there had not been clarity on the fee structure.

“For example, we have been informed that walk-in clients who do not initiate testing but are referred by their doctors for symptomatic HIV screening will not be required to pay,” Choo wrote on Facebook.

“Couples wishing to undergo pre-marital HIV screening will also be exempted from fees.”

He warned that the RM60 fee was beyond the means of Malaysians in the bottom 40 income (B40) category.

Charging walk-in clients for HIV screening will also “deprive key populations at risk of HIV from engaging in regular HIV screening”, said Choo.

“Communities affected by HIV have invested substantial efforts to engage primary care doctors and clinics in the past few years to create enabling environments that promote health-seeking among communities most vulnerable to HIV.

“A HIV testing service drawn along economic lines of affordability and access will undo the government’s investments over the past decade in building these community systems to encourage HIV testing and treatment.”

Choo also warned that the move could derail Malaysia’s 15-year strategy on ending AIDS by 2030.

When contacted, Choo told FMT he was informed that the health ministry had no record of exemption of HIV fees for the public.

He cited a leaked email that said the Treasury’s secretary-general may exclude Malaysians from paying medical service fees upon request.

But Choo said it was “possible” for some Malaysians to be exempted from HIV screening charges based on the current sexual HIV epidemic in Kuala Lumpur.

FMT has contacted Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad as well as the ministry official mentioned in the email for comment. - FMT