Ministry Looks Into Rm100mil Hospital Bills Owed By Foreigners

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Foreigners pay RM40 for outpatient treatment at government hospitals and clinics, compared to RM1 for Malaysians.PETALING JAYA: The health ministry is in the midst of discussions over some RM100 million in outstanding hospital bills owed by foreigners, especially undocumented migrants, as of the end of 2023.
Health director-general Dr Radzi Abu Hassan confirmed the amount and said a statement on the matter will be issued, Berita Harian reported.
Radzi said the health ministry’s technical management unit is holding the discussions.
The outstanding bills involve costs for giving birth, emergency and outpatient treatment, and medicines dispensed at government hospitals, according to the report, which quoted unnamed sources.
The foreigners are from 38 different countries, some of them sources of migrant labour such as Myanmar and Indonesia, but also includes those from the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Japan.
“Treatment had to be given to these foreigners on the principle of human rights and out of sympathy, although there were suspicions they were undocumented migrants,” the source was quoted as saying.
“Among the common excuses they would give is that they don’t have money, or they would promise to pay it later. And there are also some who just disappear,” the source said.
Government hospital charges for foreigners range from RM40 for outpatient treatment (RM1 for Malaysians), RM100 for outpatient specialist treatment (RM3 for Malaysians) to more than RM2,500 for deliveries, and up to RM3,000 for radiotherapy. Ward charges range from RM160 to RM320 a day.
A report by Khazanah Research Institute in 2020 said government hospital fees are a significant burden on foreign workers, who are often paid lower wages.
In April 2017, the health ministry secretary-general, then Dr Chen Chaw Min, was quoted as saying that the ministry did not store the information of foreign patients based on nationality. - FMT

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