Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad attends the National Regulatory Conference 2018 in Damansara October 2, 2018. ― Picture by Miera Zulyana

PETALING JAYA, Oct 2 ― The Health Ministry will review a law that forces public hospitals to charge top tier prices on cancer patients referred from private or university hospitals.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said his ministry was aware of the issue and responding.

“In our last few post-Cabinet meetings, we have been addressing this issue and we understand that there are pertinent consideration that must be, again, reviewed in giving most fair and applicable treatment for all patients even though they earlier came from private to the public hospitals,” he told reporters after attending the National Regulatory Conference (NRC) 2018 here.

It was previously reported that a 2017 amendment of the Fees (Medical) Order made it compulsory for public hospital to impose first-class charges for patients sent over by private or university hospitals, with no dispensation allowed for income levels.

This resulted in fees that ranged in the thousands, versus hundreds if the patients could opt for lower tiers of service.