Govt pensioners seeking treatment at IJN can continue - Anwar

BUDGET 2025 | Government pensioners who are patients at the National Heart Institute (IJN) can continue to seek treatment at the Finance Ministry-owned facility.

Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim in tabling Budget 2025 noted that the issue had sparked a recent “controversy” following reports of IJN patients being transferred to other Health Ministry facilities.

“So it has been agreed that patients already seeking treatment at IJN, particularly those aged 65 and above, can continue their treatments there,” he said.

On Monday, Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the Health Ministry will discuss IJN’s request to increase patient fees by 10 to 40 percent.

In February, health portal CodeBlue published a letter by an unnamed pensioner who complained about being discharged to a Health Ministry cardiac centre after 25 years of care at IJN.

In an immediate response, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the government maintains good working relations with IJN after the corporatisation of the facility and also continues to fund civil servants seeking treatment.

Therefore, to ensure more patients can be referred to lJN, patients are allowed to be discharged to other Health Ministry cardiac centres once their condition is stable, he said.

On Wednesday, CodeBlue reported that IJN had discharged approximately 4,000 government patients covered by the Health Ministry from outpatient service this year.

Health Ministry to discuss IJN's request for 40pct fee hike

Govt spent nearly RM250m outsourcing heart patients to IJN this year