The government has today reiterated that a proposal to make Malaysians pay 10 percent of their annual income to a regulatory body for basic healthcare is still a long way off.

The scheme previously dubbed '1Care for 1Malaysia' was being reworked before being introduced again, with no new timeframe set, said Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam.

NONE “We are discussing it at a very early stage and will continue discussions and consultations until we can evolve a system which can be good for Malaysians as a whole,” Subramaniam ( left ) told reporters in Putrajaya after giving an update on Malaysia’s healthcare sector expansion plans.

The government had first proposed such a scheme under the Fourth Malaysia Plan (1981-1985), before reviving it as ‘1Care’ a couple of years ago under the Health Ministry’s 2011-2015 strategic plan.    

When asked “who” was being consulted, Subramanian answered: “This is something which will be extensive...  Anybody, everybody.”

Subramaniam said that his ministry would seek feedback from the public, government officials, professionals and financial experts and will go through various models before proceeding.

Critics of the scheme had denounced it last year as an attempt to outsource healthcare services in Malaysia and restrict it to only those who could afford it. Protests came from the Citizens’ Healthcare Coalition (CHC) and the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Association, Malaysia (FPMPAM).

                

Originally mooted in 2011 under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration, it was however left out of the BN’s manifesto for the  recent general election.