The health Ministry said this in the parliament in reply to Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who was concerned with their fees because he feared they might affect patients from the rural areas.

In its written reply, the ministry made the comparison of the charges in four countries – Malaysia, Singapore, India and Thailand.

Tiong had posed two questions, asking whether the ministry had monitored the private health institutions to determine if they overcharged the patients, especially those in the rural areas, and whether the ministry had ensured the services provided by them met the Health Ministry’s requirements.

The ministry said the charges of these private institutions were indeed dearer because they charged according to their services and facilities provided.

It said the charges varied from among the institutions because the services and facilities provided varied, adding such services were found only in urban areas, and not in rural areas.

It said they did not thoroughly check on the charges, because since May 1, 2006, such jobs were being carried out by professional bodies in accordance with the table 13 of country constitution.

It said the ministry would amend the constitution to prevent these professional bodies from imposing exorbitant charges on the institutions.

“Our ministry has written to these bodies because we want them to adhere by the regulations in discharging their duties.”

On the medical charges of these institutions, the ministry provided the statistics of the charges in US Dollar based on the 2007 Report of Patients Beyond Borders, North Carolina; Health Travel Media, 2007

Operation in USD $                            India           Thailand          Singapore          Malaysia
Coronary Artery by-pass                   10,000         11,000             18,000              9,000
Coronary angioplasty                         11,000        13,000             13,000              11,000
hysterectomy                                       3,000           4,500               6,000                  3,000
Artificial kneel cap replacement        8,500          10,000              13,000                8,000
Coronary Valve replacement             9,000           10,000            12,500                 9,000
Ghormley                                              9,000           12,000            12,000               10,000
spinal disc                                            5,500            7,000              9,000                   6,000

The Ministry ensured they would regularly monitor the charges, standard and services provided by these institutions to ensure they met the requirements set by their ministry.

It said these institutions would need to be registered with them and submit their annual reports so that the ministry could check on them.

It said they would also amend the Medicine Act 1971 and Medicine Procedure Act 1974 to ensure these institutions kept up with the international standard in their services.

“We also require them to submit reports on cases of deaths arising from treatments or reports on incurable disease cases to ensure their safety and standard of services.

“They must also make thorough investigations when there are complaints from the patients’ families on their services.”