RM30.47 million in medical fees not collected since 2012-2014 - MOH

Medical fee payments that are not collected since 2012 to 2014 has amounted to RM30.47 million, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).

According to a statement from MOH on Wednesday, the states that have high outstanding medical fees are Sabah, Selangor, Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur and Johor, which account for 75 percent of the total amount.

For the national citizens, he said, most of the outstanding involved 3rd class ward patients who cannot afford to settle the cost of treatment.

For foreigners, the outstanding hospital medical fees were uncollectable due to illegal immigrants (PATI) who came for treatment in MOH hospitals for emergency cases, the statement said.

According to the statement, foreigners accounted for 58 per cent of the overall outstanding medical fees.

The Ministry of Health has in 2014 generated RM442 million revenue and the outstanding amount accounted for only six percent.

MOH will also set up a special task force at the ministerial level to identify, review and propose recommendations for improvement and effective revenue management in the ministry.