PRLog (Press Release) –
Jan 09, 2008 – KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) urges the government to take progressive actions to regulate and monitor the operations of insurance firms acting as managed care organizations (MCOs).
The recent news of ING Insurance’s proposed new terms for private healthcare specialists as part of their panel network is further evidence that healthcare is becoming more of a trading commodity rather than an essential service for the public good.
Datuk Marimuthu Nadason, the president of FOMCA commented that, “we are very much concerned of the projection of the insurers' influence (as bulk purchaser of healthcare services) into fee setting and in extreme cases, even into clinical judgment and prerogative, and treatment protocol.
"The diagnosis of a patient must be left to the professional judgment of doctors and not dictated by MCOs.”
He added that “healthcare cannot be traded like a commodity, for it is not. It is the basic rights of every consumer to have equitable access to basic quality healthcare and it is the role and responsibility of the state to provide its people with such amenities to sustain a quality and productive life.
"The problem with insurance firms acting as MCOs is not about doctors’ fees. It is about insurance firms denying patients their rights to unhindered professional healthcare treatment.”
Datuk Marimuthu calls for the government to develop comprehensive laws and guidelines to regulate and monitor the operations of MCOs, and such regulations can be incorporated within the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.
He emphasized that the government should continue to play a provider role, in addition to an enhanced regulatory role in a mixed public/private healthcare system which needs to be functionally integrated.
Currently there are no specific laws to govern MCOs, apart from compulsory registration imposed by MOH.
