PETALING JAYA: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) is fully backing the government’s move to mandate the issuance of prescriptions and transparent, itemised billing in private healthcare facilities, Fomca called it a long-overdue reform to protect consumers.
“Malaysia’s private healthcare sector operates in a market-driven system where nearly half of all healthcare spending comes directly from patients’ pockets, which is about 35% out-of-pocket.
“This underscores how vulnerable consumers are in this landscape,” said Fomca chief executive officer Dr. Saravanan Thambirajah.
He said that Malaysia’s medical cost inflation surged to 12.6% in 2023, which doubled from the global average of 5.6% and was significantly driven by unchecked private-sector charges.
“Bank Negara has emphasised that enhanced pricing transparency, including public drug and procedure prices and itemised billing, is pivotal in curbing this escalation and shielding consumers,” he said.
Saravanan said price data at the micro level paints an even more alarming picture.
“A trusted study revealed that medicines for everyday conditions can cost patients several days’ wages.
“For example, private sector prices for certain antihypertensive drugs could cost 2.3 days of pay for innovator brands, while generics still cost half a day’s wage.
“In some clinics, generic drug markups exceeded 100%, meaning the cost of essential treatment was doubled by unseen profit margins.”
He added that by requiring private clinics and pharmacies to issue a prescription alongside a detailed bill-listing consultation fees, drug names and prices, procedures, and materials, it empowers patients with knowledge to compare prices or seek affordable alternatives.
“It dismantles the information asymmetry that has long allowed profiteering under the guise of medical convenience,” he said, adding that studies show drug price caps could save patients between 40% and 50% on medicine costs.
Between 2016 and 2019, he stated that consultation fees jumped by 113.9%, while medicine costs and volumes dropped, which suggests that practitioners were shifting profit strategies in non-transparent ways.
“Mandatory itemised billing counters such distortions and encourages ethical behaviour,” Saravanan said.
He said that the reform restores patients’ agency, reduces unjust markups, and brings the healthcare system in line with international standards.
“Consumers, especially the elderly, the chronically ill, and lower-income groups, have long been voiceless and disadvantaged in the face of opaque pricing.
“This mandate safeguards consumers’ rights, acknowledges healthcare as a public trust rather than a retail transaction, and aligns Malaysia with global values of transparency, fairness, and accountability.
“The government must remain steadfast in defending this reform, as our healthcare system, and society’s trust depends on it.”
