MALAYSIAN GOVT URGED TO COME UP WITH GUIDELINES FOR MEDICAL FEES

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government should come up
with guidelines for medical and doctors' fees in the private sector, said Muslim
Consumers Association of Malaysia secretary-general Dr Maamor Osman.

He said the time had come for this in view of the burgeoning complaints by
the public about unreasonable fees charged by doctors and private medical
establishments.

"If such guidelines are available, patients will not be left in shock in
having to pay high charges just for a few minutes of consultation," he told
Bernama when asked to comment on a newspapers report today about exorbitant
charges imposed by private hospitals.

Among others, the report said use of credit cards and finance facilities by
patients to pay the charges was one of the reasons why some people failed to
service loans from financial institutions promptly.

Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) communications
director Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman also concurred with Maamor.

"The problem is, many patients get a shock when they receive bills from
private hospitals. Sometimes their medical insurance is not enough to cover and
they have to resort to credits cards or go into debt to settle the bills," he
said, adding that doctors and hospitals in the private sector should impose
charges that were fair and reasonable so as not to burden Malaysians.

-- BERNAMA