PARLIAMENT | A total of 1,094 claims under the national health insurance scheme MySalam have been received until April 4, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Finance Minister Amiruddin Hamzah said 97 of the claims, involving payments totalling RM40,200, had been disbursed to the recipients under the scheme.

“This involves admission to hospitals and claims for critical illnesses,” he said in response to a question from Rohani Abdul Karim (GPS-Batang Lupar).

Amiruddin noted that 3.8 million people from the B40 income group are eligible for the scheme.

To a supplementary question from Mustapa Mohamed (Harapan-Jeli) on whether the government planned to continue with MySalam, Amiruddin said the scheme would be carried out for five years.

“The first phase of the scheme is for five years, and if it is proven capable of reducing the burden of the B40 group, the government will study whether or not to continue with it,” he added.

The scheme provides a one-off payment of RM8,000 to participants who are diagnosed with any one of the 36 listed critical diseases, including cancer and heart ailments.

The scheme also gives out a daily payment of RM50 as replacement income for a maximum of 14 days or RM700 a year to those receiving treatment at any government hospitals.

- Bernama