Tax on foreign workers’ outpatient care in Malaysia may backfire, say practitioners
Experts propose government fully exempt primary care services for foreign workers from Sales and Services Tax
KUCHING, Malaysia (MNTV) — A new tax introduced by the Malaysian government will make medical treatment for foreign workers expensive, reports The Borneo Post.
The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) has proposed for the government to fully exempt primary care services for foreign workers from the Sales and Services Tax (SST).
“Foreign workers are already vulnerable and underserved, and the SST to basic medical treatment risks deterring them from seeking timely care, delaying diagnosis,” said FPMPAM president Dr Shanmuganathan Ganeson in a statement.
He said that as an alternative, the government could implement a moratorium on the tax to allow time to explore a fair and sustainable healthcare financing mechanism.
“We have formally submitted an appeal to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), urging an urgent exemption from the upcoming six per cent SST on primary healthcare services provided to foreign workers,” he said.
Dr Shanmuganathan said although the Foreign Workers Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomena) screenings remained exempt, many foreign workers would still require outpatient care for common illnesses, injuries, and chronic conditions — essential services typically paid for out-of-pocket by the workers themselves, or arranged through employer or Third-Party Administrator (TPA) programmes.“We are also concerned about the eight per cent SST on commercial property rentals, which would further escalate operating costs for clinics renting shoplots, medical suites, or office units.
“FPMPAM also notes a policy anomaly where beauticians and cosmeticians, which are not related to essential health, now have no tax, whilst tax is imposed for essential health and medical services.”
Nonetheless, Dr Shanmuganathan said the federation stood ready to work with the MoF to ensure that tax policies would not inadvertently undermine access to essential healthcare or threaten the survival of community clinics.
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
