Subsidised healthcare to continue

NST: SEREMBAN: The government will continue to provide subsidised health services for all despite escalating costs, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.
The prime minister said public sector healthcare financing had been spiralling over the past decade since it breached the billion ringgit mark in 1983.
"Government healthcare allocations have continued to increase, reaching RM11 billion last year. However, we will continue to provide subsidised health services and have allocated RM13.7 billion this year to enhance healthcare facilities."
He said the allocation would be used to purchase new equipment, increase the supply of medicine and improve human resources.
Additionally, he said investments would also be made to intensify research and enforcement activities, as well as build more hospitals, clinics and quarters.
Abdullah said this at the ground-breaking for the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Medical City in Bandar Enstek near here.
Built at a cost of RM4.7 billion, the IIUM Medical City is set to become the region's prime education centre in medicine and the leading regional referral centre in Malaysia. It will also provide a platform for research and development for local and international clinical specialists.
Developed by Medicalcity Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, the project is a joint venture between TH Properties Sdn Bhd and ISR Capital Berhad.
Abdullah said that while the government placed great emphasis on bringing quality healthcare to all Malaysians, it felt that more could be done to develop the industry.
"We have taken big strides in healthcare over the past decade and we need to focus on ways we can leverage on this progress.
"We are already positioned on the regional healthcare map given the high quality world-class facilities and the highly trained and qualified healthcare workforce we have.
"With the right investments and effective policy thrusts, we can aspire to take our place as a leading centre of medical excellence," he said, adding that private medical service providers also had an important role in complementing and supplementing the national healthcare system.
He said declining levels of health caused the country to incur various direct and indirect costs and the missed opportunities and untapped potential were a hindrance to economic growth.
"Lost productive working hours are a serious cost to industries, from agriculture to manufacturing to services.
"Ill children and students perform less well, drop out of school and risk being excluded from economic opportunities later in life.
"Above all, permanent ill health, like poverty and other similar extreme conditions, effectively erodes fundamental human rights and breaks down human dignity."
He said among the key factors behind sustained economic growth in the most successful developing countries was the rising standard of healthcare.
Improvements in healthcare, he said, often resulted in increases in GDP per capita and higher rates of growth.
"The effects of better health will directly enable us to help those least able to help themselves as it will have the greatest impact for the poorest and most vulnerable."
Meanwhile, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan thanked the prime minister for his contributions and the development he had brought to Negri Sembilan.
"Since Abdullah became prime minister, we have benefited in various aspects, especially in development."