KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — mySalam paid out about RM14 million to some 10,000 low-income Malaysians last year, the Finance Ministry revealed, just 3.4 per cent of an estimated RM400 million the health protection scheme received.
Singapore-based Great Eastern is meant to spend about RM400 million annually to give beneficiaries RM8,000 for a critical illness diagnosis, or RM700 per annum for 14 days’ hospitalisation for any condition, as the insurance company is contributing RM2 billion to the mySalam fund for five years, or RM400 million a year.
A total of 4.3 million individuals from the bottom 40 per cent (B40) income group, who were recipients of the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) cash aid, are eligible for mySalam — a scheme that pays RM8,000 lump sum cash when diagnosed with a critical illness from January 1 2019.
Of these, more than 9,662 individuals received benefits amounting to more than RM13.7 million, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.
More than 1,448 people received the RM8,000 lump sum critical illness benefit, while over 8,214 individuals received the daily RM50 hospitalisation allowance benefit that is capped at 14 days’ maximum yearly.
mySalam is applicable at all Ministry of Health (MOH), public university, and army hospitals.
As of today, middle class (M40) Malaysians with gross annual incomes of up to RM100,000 can register for mySalam. Those eligible will get RM4,000 cash if diagnosed with a critical illness.
MySalam has also expanded its coverage from 36 to 45 critical illnesses, including terminal diseases and polio, effective January 1, 2020. It increased coverage of BSH recipients and their spouses from the ceiling age of 55 to 65 this year; the minimum age of coverage is 18.
Unmarried BSH recipients aged 40 and above earning less than RM2,000 monthly and people with disabilities aged 18 and above of the same income bracket will also automatically be eligible for mySalam starting this year.
“The government expects that the expansion of the scheme will benefit eight million individuals for 2020,” Lim said at the launch of the mySalam expansion scheme at his ministry in Putrajaya.
For M40s, the registration process for mySalam ends on March 31. After that, those eligible for the lump sum payout of RM4,000 will be notified and be able to make their respective claims. For single BSH recipients and eligible disabled persons, claims can be made in May, after the BSH registration ends.
Lim, meanwhile, announced that the government will launch a mySalam application that can be downloaded by all eligible recipients. It will enable users to make claims, check the status of said claims, and the remaining amount of their benefits.
“In order to increase more awareness, spread of information, and help ease the process of claims, the mySalam team is also working to erect and upgrade mySalam kiosks to 150 government hospitals in the whole of Malaysia before the end of the year,” he added.
Currently, mySalam kiosks are available at 39 government hospitals nationwide, where relevant parties can make general inquiries, make status checks, and send in their claims in person.
