Healthcare in public hospitals and clinics in Malaysia is heavily subsidized by the government, but is not free. However, posts on social media have surfaced alongside a misleading claim that the Southeast Asian country has started charging for dialysis treatments and urged the government to ‘reverse’ the changes. The Health Minister said nominal charges have always existed and the current pricing scheme of 13 ringgit ($3) per session has been in place since 2016.
“Hemodialysis in government hospitals is no longer free. All patients have to pay 13 ringgit per session. For those who are poor, it is 169 ringgit per month, which is a lot of money,” said part of a Malay-language Facebook page. posted on October 13, 2024.
The accompanying image shows a receipt issued by a government hospital for dialysis sessions for September.
The costs include a dialysis fee of 10 ringgit and a facility fee of 3 ringgit, bringing the total to 13 ringgit per session. The receipt shows that the patient received 13 sessions per month, with the final cost being 169 ringgit.
The post then urged the government to “roll back the charges” and prevent rising costs in the future.
Similar posts about the alleged ‘new’ dialysis costs also circulated on Facebook here, here and here, as well as on WhatsApp.
But keyword searches on Google led to a post from Malaysian Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad on his verified Facebook page calling the claims “false” (archived link).
“Outpatient care at Ministry of Health facilities will remain at 1 ringgit, specialist care at 5 ringgit and hemodialysis treatment at 13 ringgit per session,” he said in the Facebook post.
If a patient receives three sessions per week, the dialysis cost will be 169 ringgit per month, the minister wrote, which corresponds to the cost stated on the receipt shared in the misleading post.
This series of charges has existed since 2016, he added.
The same treatment costs are also listed on the Ministry of Health website (archived link).
The Malaysian government heavily subsidizes the country’s healthcare system, allocating 45.3 billion ringgit to it in its 2025 budget (archived link).
Public health care costs are set out in the Fee Act 1951, which divides the cost of treatment into three classes based on income (archived link).
Those in the third tier with the lowest income pay only 10 ringgit for dialysis, excluding the facility fee of 3 ringgit:
AFP has previously debunked a false claim regarding an alleged increase in consultation fees at government clinics.
