KUCHING: The significant increase in allocation for health under the Federal Budget 2024 reflects the rapid increase in health care expenditure and the rising demands on Malaysia’s healthcare system.
Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib in a statement yesterday said the increase is the largest in the last decade.
“The Ministry of Health (MOH) is allocated RM35.2 billion for its operating expenditure and RM6.1 billion for development expenditure. Just three years ago, the total allocation for health under the 2020 budget was RM 30.84 billion.
“At RM41.3 billion, the allocation is 13.5 per cent higher than this year’s, representing both the highest percentage and absolute amounts in the past five years. Health now represents 10.5 per cent of the total Federal Budget of RM 393.8 billion.
“This strong and clear commitment by the Federal Government to improve Malaysia’s healthcare delivery system can be seen in the hundreds of millions allocated to building and modernising clinics, hospitals and replacing ageing and obsolete infrastructure,” he said.
However, he pointed out a crucial ambiguity in the strategy concerning the recruitment, retention and prevention of skilled healthcare workers’ migration to the private sector or abroad.
“Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pointed out that Malaysia still falls short of the target of one doctor for 400 patients.
“The government must also demonstrate commitment to not only recruit new personnel but fund the promotion of existing staff and increase salaries to support retention of skilled healthcare workers,” he stated.
While welcoming the proposed increase in excise duties on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), Azrul urged for a strategic redirection of revenue towards health communications, preventive interventions and healthy breakfast programmes for school children.
He stated that more investment is needed in this area if the ministry is committed to moving from sick care to health care.
“Every year, nearly one million Malaysians fall sick, either with diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol or various other diseases. We must want to keep people healthy.
“It is the only effective and sustainable way to manage non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and reduce the burden of care in the long run.
“With 3.9 million people living with diabetes and around 9,000 kidney patients newly registered annually and needing dialysis treatment, this budget and future edition will never be enough to meet the demand. We must do things differently,” he opined.
Adding on, he said while the RM100 million allocated to the Madani Medical Scheme is a game changer which could reduce the congestion in government clinics and hospitals, it remains insufficient to achieve the target.
“We have seen the proven public-private partnership models from Selangor and ProtectHealth. However, based on the Selangor experience, I believe that RM 100 million is too low for such an ambitious coverage target. It should be twice the amount and given the necessary resources to succeed,” he stressed.
He also mentioned that there was no indication of any commitment to addressing the issue of sustainable healthcare financing and investing in a sustainable long-term solution.
“In order to ensure that Malaysia’s healthcare system is able to continue to provide quality, affordable and accessible health services and tackle the challenges of preventing and treating NCDs, mental health and an aging population, the government must commit itself to finding a way forward on this question,” he said.
