PETALING JAYA: While healthcare is to be waived from the Goods and Services Tax, there are fears that hospital patients will still face heftier bills from the many underlying costs which are not exempt.
Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM) president Datuk Dr Jacob Thomas warned that this could be the scenario unless certain mechanisms were changed.
He said that while the GST would not be imposed on healthcare, a patient could still be taxed on room and food, use of medical equipment, prescription drugs and outsourcing, such as for laundry, laboratory and food services.
“Currently, there is no tax if we use a third party for housekeeping and food services, But after the GST is implemented, we will have to pay tax.
“The Health Ministry has appealed on our behalf to the Finance Ministry to not charge us this GST. We are awaiting their answer.
“Some areas need to be looked at to ensure it is not burdensome. We have to look at the overall implications,” he told reporters at the APHM 22nd international health conference yesterday.
The Health Ministry, he said, understood their predicament and concerns.
“It is impossible for hospitals to absorb this tax when cost of goods will increase. If there is an additional cost, it will definitely be passed to patients.
“For example, if we buy a piece of equipment such as gloves and it is going to cost more, then patients will have to pay for that,” he said, adding that overall healthcare costs could go up between 4% and 5%.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya, who was also present, said they were doing what they could to help the private hospitals.
“We understand the problem faced by private hospitals and are doing all we can to help them solve this problem.
“We are also doing what we can to ensure that patients are not burdened by extra costs,” he said, adding that the GST would replace the current sales and services tax which could be as high as 16%.
He added that rising costs was also the ministry’s biggest headache with RM20bil spent last year and a projected RM22bil this year.
Source: The Star Online