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    1 Care in its ‘final stages’, say Health Ministry officials

    By Yow Hong Chieh

    KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Putrajaya’s controversial 1 Care scheme, which critics claim will tax citizens and businesses monthly to foot the country’s growing healthcare bill, has already entered its “final stages”, Health Ministry officials told a pharmaceutical seminar last month.

    This is despite the ministry’s repeated denials and assurance to the public that it is “too early” to sound warning bells about the scheme, believed to be in phase three of a five-phase implementation plan.

    The Malaysian Insider understands that ministry officials had told the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS) during a seminar on January 15 that it was already finalising 1 Care proposals and that a Pharmacy Act would be tabled at the next Parliament sitting in March to facilitate the transition to the new insurance scheme.

    “The 1 Care transformation proposals are now in the final stages,” the ministry’s health policy and planning deputy director Dr Nordin Saleh had told MPS, according to the minutes of the seminar obtained by this news portal.

    The Malaysian Insider understands that Health Ministry pharmacy board deputy director Azman Yahya had also explained that the new Pharmacy Act would see the government outsourcing the dispensing of prescription drugs to pharmacies.

    Doctors, on the other hand, would only prescribe drugs identified in a standard list, which will be covered by 1 Care’s National Health Financing Scheme (NHFS), while patients will have to pay “out of pocket” for medicines not included in the list.

    A drug pricing system may also be introduced once the standard list has been compiled and pharmacies will be reimbursed for all prescriptions, which will comprise mainly generic drugs whenever possible.

    The proposed 1 Care scheme, which is fast turning into a political hot potato, is expected to replace the current two-tier healthcare system and force citizens and businesses to contributed nearly 10 per cent of their monthly earnings to a government-run insurance fund.

    Under the current system, patients can choose to seek treatment at either private clinics or hospitals and pay out of their own pockets or opt for government clinics or hospitals instead, where they will pay a nominal fee for basic, federally subsidised healthcare.

    Already, public outrage is fast growing over the prospect of additional taxes under Putrajaya’s bid to restructure Malaysia’s healthcare system, despite talk that the new scheme would ensure more equitable healthcare for Malaysians of all classes.

    Leading the charge is the Citizens’ Healthcare Coalition (CHC), a group comprising medical practitioners and consumer associations that has taken its cause online.

    The pact, which started off with some 17 associations, kicked off its “Tak Nak 1 Care” campaign last December using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and YouTube to spread information about the scheme and gain wider public support.

    The Health Ministry, however, yesterday assured critics that the 1 Care scheme will not burden the public with undue costs.

    Its director-general, Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman, said discussions on the types of financial arrangements that will be made available and their implication to the government as well as taxpayers were ongoing to ensure an acceptable healthcare financing model.

    “Any assumption or conjecture on the mode of financial impact for the individual taxpayer is very premature at this stage as discussions are being held at the moment to ensure a positive and workable model,” he had said in a statement.

    Dr Hasan added that the ministry was taking proactive steps to ensure that Malaysians would not be burdened by healthcare costs, even as they continued to spiral upwards.

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    14 comments

    • Simon  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      Saya suka mendengar komen2 penyokong umno tentang perkara ini. Tapi mungkin ahli2 umno boleh mendapat perkhidmatan perubatan yang percuma kerana kerajaan umno boleh kategorikan mereka sebagai kakitangan kerajaan. Klu macam itu, ahli umno tak perlu komen, tetapi klu mereka dalam golongan yang paksa mengeluarkan 10% daripada pendapat masing-masing setiap bulan untuk membiayai skim ini, inilah masanya untuk bertindak bijak.
    • Yusof  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      The most important thing is, the government must enforce a single price scheme to pay for the healthcare for millions ICare patients, patients carrying private plans, workers' health benefit plans or out of pocket, otherwise you can't say goodbye to the present multi tiered systems, because the hospitals or even the surgeons will accept the scheme that pay more and that the same hospital and surgeon for 1Care patients, when the waiting line get longer, some are prepared to jump the queue with big money, so 1Care will go back to square one.
    • Aris  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      The costs of medical care have spiraled out of control. Medical insurance coverage has skyrocketed. All kind of diseases are on the rise. Poor environmental pollution (Lynas in Kuantan), water pollution, chemical pollution in agriculture produce, meat and aqua culture, too much added sugar and toxic colouring substances in manufactured food, toxic substances in building material, paints, domestic products and so on go unchecked. Enforcement authorities can do much, much more but they seem not.
      Fine - 1 CARE can help deal with the symptoms.
      What does the government propose to do with the above causes that are the real culprit?
    • Yusof  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      I foresee 1Care will suffer the same Vietnam's experience with the legacy left by the US and corrupted generals,in Malaysia we have corrupted government that gave free hands to the US to inf literate into our fragmented system, no much different from the the South America under the military regimes, the claim by 1Care suppose to integrate the public and private to fulfill Mahathir's the agenda of the Private Healthcare Services and Facilities Act 1998,in the end the two tiered system will not disappear when the government "private" scheme will become overcrowded, while the industry is allowed to keep it's tier position because there will be a few people to keep the high income nation living status, leaving little choice to the ordinary rakyat to continue paying out of pocket when they or their loves one can't wait for too long to seek for specialist treatment through the government's health scheme. In this case some rakyat are within the capping for salary deduction and yet are forced to pay out pocket due to the incompetency of the government's sponsored health system.
    • Yusof  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      I foresee 1Care will suffer the same problems like the Vietnam's experience with the legacy left by the US and Malaysia has been heavily infiltrated by the US's industry for too long that in the end will not easily free ourselves from the US's multi tiered system that for many years to come will burden the ordinary tax payers while the high income earners can opt for better healthcare with their industrial packages ( big cash ) and the government sponsored scheme will be overcrowded at the expense of healthcare quality to leave little choice for the rakyat but to continue paying from out of pocket.
    • Yusof  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      Yes the BN government is always proactive in making decision and all the news about 1Care are the result of the government making decision proactively. I wonder how the BN calculate the capping to ensure that Malaysians would not be burdened by healthcare costs, even as they continued to spiral upwards when the BN is more concerned about protecting the status of healthcare industry than the ordinary patients. Then the BN would say, even the UK has to forgo the old style of financing the NHS when conservatives, liberal and labor last week voted to increase the capping so Malaysia also can operate healthcare by the same quantum while protecting the interests of the "industry". You see even Vincent Tan is anticipating the arrival of prescription bearers to his 1000 Cosway pharmacies.
    • Yusof  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      Ini rupanya hasil dari idea satu Kumpulan Kerja Teknikal (TWG) yang berpeluh-peluh brain strorm dalam tahun 2009 di Hospital Sg Buluh untuk mencipta puisi 1Care walau ramai pegawai-pegawai dari Putrajaya kata itu cuba sandiwara sebab keputusan sudah pun dibuat, jadi inilah 1Care nya yang memerah lagi duit pembayar cukai sebab dana yang dikumpul cara lama sudah mempunyai agenda tetap macam mana nak belanjakannya, macam rakyat terpaksa memecah tabung simpanan hari tua untuk membiyai yuran pendidian anak dan juga kos rawatan penyakit kritikal, jadi kita tahu lah walau pun Indris Jala kata Malaysia akan muflis kalau kaedah penggunaan dana secara korap ini diteruskan, Najib kata tidak kerana di sini terbukti yang dia tahu nak halang Malaysia jadi korap ialah dengan mengorek dana dari pembayar cukai. Harap pembayar cukai tidak akan tertipu lagi dengan agenda Najib.
    • Yusof  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      Tak jauh beza dari projek proton saga la, kalau Korea guna reversed engineering untuk keluar kereta lebih baik dari kereta Jepun, Malaysia guna reversed engineering untuk tampal teknologi sini dan tampal teknologi sana supaya ada peluang vendor-vendor atau pembekal-pembekal dari kalangan kroni untuk buat dan jual spare part tampal, gitu juga dengan reversed heath system ini tak mudah rakyat faham. Macam nilah, sistem penjagaan kesihatan ini macam di antara pesakit dan pembekal selarai dengan di antara ikan (ikan) dan takungan air (pembekal kehidupan dan kesihatan ikan-ikan) tapi dari sistem 1care ni terbukti kerajaan BN lebih perihatin terhadap takungan ikan dari ikan-ikan di dalamnya, sebab sikap pentingkan kroni menyebabkan pada mereka ikan-ikan akan sentiasa beranak penak, tak kira sihat atau tidak, tapi takungan air sentiasa perlu dijaga, iaitu pelabor-pelabor yang melabor dari hospital dan managed-care organizations (MCO) yang tidak diketahui siapa pemegang-pemengan sahamnya, jadi 1Care ini sudah tentu mengutamakan pemegan-pemegang saham dari pesakit-pesakit, kalau pesakit mati, sentiasa ada lagi pesakit yang sakit perlukan rawatan. Kerajaan BN selagi memerintah tidak akan keluarkan lebih peruntukan, sebab itu kerajan kaan terus korek duit dari rakyat dan pembayar cukai. Kalau dah duit banyak dalam tabung, macam-macam boleh guna kan. Tanyalah ramai pesakit kronik seperti darah tinggi dan kencing manis sudah mula kena membeli bekalan dari farmasi swasta kerana kerajaan dengan sengaja tidak akan menambah peruntukan untuk bekalan ubat.Teman-teman dari Bahagian Farmasi kata, ini bukan kerana tak ada peruntukan, tapi 1Care tu ada menyediakan "flexible medicines supply", tenguk Vincent Tan pun tidak mahu ketinggalan untuk menambah pendapatan melalui farmasi coswaynya. Kesimpulannya 1Care bermatlamat untuk membesarkan tankungan-tanngkuan air saja, bukan untuk menyihatkan ikan-ikan yang menumpang hidup di dalamnya.
    • As  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      Lagi projek untuk mengsonglap duit rakyat oleh kerajaan sebelum PRU 13, projek ini digesa untuk diluluskan sebelum pilihanraya kalau kalah PRU13 mereka tidak akan bimbang sebab projek lombong emas ini akan mengkayakan semua kroni kroni dan pak menteri sehingga ke cucu cicit sehingga beberapa abad termasuk lebuhraya 7 billion dengan konsesi 60 tahun.

      Rakyat masih mahu memilih kerajaan BN yang mahu mengkayakan mereka lagi di PRU13kah?
    • dinamik  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      any suggestion or better resolution to overcome our spiraling health care cost??? Don't take everything for granted as we r born safely in place without being charged.. and get outpt treatment for just RM1 .......and yet end up with increases number of life span ??..... where got on earth maa....
    • F. S. A  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      10% is ridicolous,if a person earning Rm3000 THAN one month he has to fork out RM 300 it better to take some insurance,for goverment staff its ok they can always get out of it .Most probably it will be bear by the jabatan, FOR US PRIVATE sectors it from our own hard earn salary.i dont agree with it,
    • F. S. A  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      for private sectors you can take the 10% out of the income tax money that we pay.we dont agree 10% from monthly salary.it is much higher
    • AnakM'sia  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      Bagi penyokong-penyokong BeEnd, bukaalah mata sebelum jahanam kita semua di bawah tangan panjang dia. Kalau ia berkuasa 5 tahun lagi, pokai kita semua dengan pelbagai lagi beban tak masuk akal, tol-tol gila sampai cucu-cicit kita, potongan sial dari gaji, simpanan hari tua EPF dipinjam oleh robin hood dan pelbagai lagi projek demi "KEBAIKAN" rakyat.... Sedarlah sebelum terlewat!!!!!!!!
      • dinamik 3 months ago
        talk nonsense without evidence based just show what mentality you have dear..
    • AnakM'sia  •  Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur  •  3 months ago
      "Rakyat diahulukan" LOL. Kerajaan BeEnd pilah mampus! Ketika inflasi semakin teruk dan pendapatan rakyat masih rendah berbanding negara-nagara lain, ini kerajaan sial mahu kurangkan lagi gaji bersih kita. Lepas tolak 11% EPF, PCB, SOCSO, ZAKAT dan ini 1Mampus, berapakah baki boleh diguna? Pilah mampus, ini kerajaan sial mesti TUMBANG kat GE13!

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