KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM) criticised the government today for failing to revise private general practitioners’ (GP) consultation fees as promised.
Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil’s post-Cabinet press conference yesterday did not include a widely anticipated announcement on Cabinet approval for an increase of GPs’ consultation fees that have stagnated for over three decades.
“We note with deep disappointment that the health minister’s promise to finalise the long-overdue review of private GP consultation fees within a month has now passed without action,” FPMPAM president Dr Shanmuganathan TV Ganeson said in a statement.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told reporters over a month ago on May 3 that the issue about GP consultation fees would be resolved “within one month at the latest”, adding that he had already prepared a Cabinet memorandum and circular.
This promise followed Dzulkefly’s earlier broken pledge to revise GP consultation fees before mandating drug price display on May 1. More than 700 doctors in the private sector later staged an historic demonstration in Putrajaya on May 6.
During Dzulkefly’s May 3 press conference, the health minister claimed that the National Action Committee on the Cost of Living (Naccol) had already agreed to a review of GP consultation fees.
However, FPMPAM said today that doctors’ groups were made to understand that Naccol has raised concerns about the impact of a GP fee update.
“We want to remind Naccol that these concerns are misplaced,” said Dr Shanmuganathan.
“Patients who visit GPs choose to do so for immediate, quality care—often to avoid hospital queues and costly specialist visits. They are willing to pay a fair fee for this timely service. Past analyses by Naccol itself showed no significant impact on the Consumer Price Index, even with proposed fee updates as far back as 2019.”
CodeBlue understands that doctors’ groups have pushed for a floor consultation fee of at least RM60 to RM70. The current GP consultation fee rate at RM10 to RM35 has not been changed for 33 years.
Raising the floor is especially crucial for panel practitioners paid by third-party administrators (TPAs).
FPMPAM accused TPAs of having “suppressed” GP consultation fees for too long, besides alleging that the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) pharmaceutical services division, certain pharmacy groups, and pharmaceutical companies have lobbied to “undermine the integrated GP clinic model that has served Malaysians well for over 60 years”.
“The government must not hide behind a narrative that keeping GP fees artificially low somehow serves the public good,” said Dr Shanmuganathan.
“In reality, it threatens the survival of primary care—the most cost-effective part of our health care system—and shifts costs to patients in other ways.”
