'Absurd' – PKR rep tells private hospitals not to cash in on pandemic

 

A PKR lawmaker has urged private hospitals to do their part in battling Covid-19 instead of seeking to profit from the pandemic.

Lee Chean Chung expressed concern over the announcement by the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) on ways to utilise the RM100 million allocated by the government.

"It was announced that the almost-finalised mechanism involves the negotiation of treatment and charges between doctors from the public and private hospitals on a case-by-case basis.

"It is absurd and ridiculous to make such an ad hoc arrangement when more than 5,000 confirmed cases have been recorded in the past three days, while death tolls reaching thousand.

“We have to acknowledge that we are in a state of war against Covid-19," added Lee, the Semambu assemblyperson, in a statement today.

The RM100 million allocation is part of the RM15 billion aid package, dubbed Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai), announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Jan 18, five days after the second movement control order (MCO 2.0) was imposed.

APHM president Dr Kuljit Singh said the allocation only covered patients referred by public hospitals.

The referrals are the prerogative of public hospital doctors. Patients will not be able to make the request themselves. Neither will the funding apply for walk-in private hospital patients.

Prior to this, Putrajaya said Covid-19 patients will need to pay for their treatment should they choose to go to private hospitals for now.

'Raking in millions'

The government is in talks with insurance companies to cover Covid-19 expenses.

Pointing out that pandemics do not occur on a yearly basis, Lee said it is during such critical periods that the public expects private hospitals to do this as a service to the nation.

"It is known that many private hospitals are raking in millions in profit, even during the pandemic lock-down period,” he added.

Therefore, Lee urged private hospitals to suggest means to reduce the burden faced by the public healthcare system and not to profit from the RM100 million allocation.

"Private healthcare providers are also civil players and must live to the expectations of the people," he added.

The PKR treasurer also trained his guns on Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, whom he claimed appeared to be missing over this issue during this challenging period.

"I urge Adham to explain to the public on the details of the RM100 million allocated by the government to private hospitals.

"It is not morally acceptable for the Perikatan Nasional government to declare an emergency and not demand that private hospitals take their fair share of the social responsibility," Lee added.  - Mkini