The government has imposed a price cap that private hospitals can charge over each type of health condition for treating a patient referred from a public hospital.
Non-Covid patients may end up in the Covid-19 high risk group if their medical condition is not kept under control, says the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia.
If all public and private health care resources are collectively mobilised, we will have sufficient surge capacity to keep the pandemic under control until we achieve herd immunity through widespread vaccination.
It must also be noted that most of the private hospitals are owned by GLCs, where the government as a shareholder is a beneficiary of its profits and dividends.
APHM president Dr Kuljit Singh says that not all private hospitals have the necessary features like sterility and airflow, or sufficient manpower, that are required to manage Covid-19 cases.
The Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 states that the amount of compensation for the government’s temporary possession of land or property, or for utilisation of resources, cannot be challenged in court.