KJ: Govt must make 'tough choices' on healthcare funding
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said among the issues faced by his ministry in getting more funding is that they are competing with other ministries and the government’s revenue has shrunk.
“Politicians have to think long and hard about whether you increase...
The government needs to make some “tough political decisions” to provide the underfunded Health Ministry with more allocations in the coming years.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said among the issues faced by his ministry in getting more funding is that they are competing with other ministries and the government’s revenue has shrunk.
“Politicians have to think long and hard about whether you increase tax revenue and how you increase tax revenue.
“They also have to start thinking about how, for instance, they distribute that tax revenue so that more of it can come to public health, education, and other public goods which we should prioritise,” he said.
He was speaking at a policy dialogue titled ‘The Future of Our Healthcare’ at the Health Policy Summit 2022 held at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur to discuss the development of the Health White Paper.
The other speakers present included former health minister Dr S Subramaniam, Axiata Group chairperson Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, and Sunway University’s Sunway Centre for Planetary Health executive director Dr Jemilah Mahmood.
Khairy said another thing the government can look at would be to rationalise subsidies but he acknowledged this was a “very difficult political decision to make”.
He pointed out that about RM80 billion out of this year’s RM322.5 billion national budget was allocated for subsidies.
“There is no good timing for rationalising subsidies, there is no good timing to have a more targeted subsidy regime.
“Some of the subsidies are necessary and essential in order to keep down inflation but going forward, don’t you want to spend some of that money on investments in healthcare?” he asked.
Politicians must be courageous when it comes to such decisions because they will surely take a hit from the public for it, he said.
More money for Health Ministry
Previously, Khairy said the government only spends about 2.6 percent of its GDP on healthcare when the recommended amount of healthcare spending for a country is around five percent of its GDP.
While the first avenue to increasing the Health Ministry’s allocation will be to tap into the government’s general tax pool, Khairy said there is an alternative.
He said there can be a co-payment scheme for healthcare services.
However, he stressed this is the last resort and would require a “serious national conversation”.
“I think the sequencing is important. The sequencing first must be to demand a bigger share from the taxation pool.
“After we reach a certain percentage or a certain level of service delivery which is adequate, then we have to start thinking about other co-payment mechanisms; what it is, what it might be, what the rates are.
“These are things which have to be thrashed out at the political level and also with all stakeholders,” he said.
Healthcare for foreigners
Meanwhile, Khairy said he agrees with Jemilah, who earlier in the panel answered a question about providing healthcare to foreign workers in Malaysia.
She said xenophobia in healthcare should end as healthcare is a human right.
When asked by an audience member whether stateless children should be given equal access to healthcare in the country as Malaysian citizens, Khairy said everyone on Malaysian soil should have a right to healthcare, regardless of their status.
“That is the position of the Health Ministry. That was my position when I was in charge of the Covid-19 immunisation programme.
“It’s just we need to work with other ministries so that they see our point of view as well and in particular the ministry in charge of immigration and in charge of home affairs.
“We have to tell them that, for certain things like these, it should be accessible to them as it is accessible to Malaysians,” Khairy said.
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