Materia Medica Malaysiana

PSD: Pensioners’ medical claims get priority treatment

It is government policy to deal promptly with complaints and claims of public sector retirees.
The Government, through the Public Service Department (PSD), would never ignore or delay the medical claims of these retirees, PSD public relations officer Hasniah Rashid said today.
The immediate action is in recognition of the contributions made by these employees during their years of service.
Hasniah added that retirees’ medical claims in 2003 cost the Government RM37.2 million. Last year, the claims amounted to RM41.7 million.
There are, at present, 513,689 retirees and pensioners in the country.
Medical benefits for retirees and their dependants are provided for under the General Orders and are applicable to personnel of the Federal and State Governments and statutory or local authorities.
Retirees, she said, should call the PSD directly at tel: 03- 8885406/4476/4477/4478 for any queries or to forward their complaints.
They can also seek help from the pensioners’ associations in all States.
"If they have problems going to the association, they can always approach the Ex-Servicemen’s Association or the Ex-Policemen’s Association.
"We work closely with them for the benefit and convenience of retirees."
She added that the bulk of the complaints that the PSD received from retirees involved bureaucracy, which they claimed was delaying the reimbursement of their medical claims.
Retirees, Hasniah explained, should understand that the PSD could not make payments without medical bills or authorisation by government medical officers, adding that the problem with some retirees was that they wanted the Government to pay for their medical bills at private hospitals.
"They are public sector retirees and, therefore, should go to government hospitals for treatment and not private hospitals."
However, those admitted to private hospitals in the event of an emergency would be given special consideration.
On May 14, the New Straits Times highlighted the plight of Sebastian Lopez’s wife, Theresa Alphonso Gomez, who waited 26 months to get medication she badly needed for her multiple sclerosis.
Sebastian is a retiree of the Perak Water Board.
It took six months for Theresa to be reimbursed for the cost of the drug. The delay was said to have exacerbated her medical problem.
Commenting on Gomez’s case, Hasniah said the PSD received the first and only correspondence from her in a letter dated Nov 27, 2002.
A reply was given on Dec 17, 2002, to the effect that the matter was within the purview of the Perak Water Board.
A copy of the reply was extended to the board, which contacted the Health Ministry to determine the prescription for the drug issued by the hospital concerned.
Only after it was confirmed that the prescription was made did the board reimburse RM3,000 to Lopez in July 2004.