PETALING JAYA: A health think tank said Budget 2023 is not a game changer for healthcare, despite the significant increase in allocation.
Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive officer, Azrul Mohd Khalib, reportedly said that the budget was an effort to address issues such as ageing infrastructure and retaining skilled healthcare workers.
“The government also wants to address the contract doctor issue by increasing the line item for contract recruitments, but seems to not have increased permanent positions despite large increases in emoluments across the board. This is obviously intended to fund the promotion of existing staff and increase salaries to support retention of skilled healthcare workers,” he reportedly said in a statement.
Azrul Mohd, however added that he was disappointed that there was no mention of any commitment to address the issue of healthcare financing and investing in a sustainable long-term solution.
“In order to ensure that Malaysia’s healthcare system is able to continue to provide quality, affordable and accessible health services for all in the decades to come, and tackle the challenges of preventing and treating non-communicable diseases (NCDs), of mental health and an ageing population, the government must summon the will and commitment to invest now in a new sustainable approach to funding health. We did not hear that,” he said.
The federal government had allocated RM36.1 billion to the Health Ministry in Budget 2023.
The ministry’s allocation was an increase of RM3.7 billion or 11.51% compared to the RM32.4 billion allocated in 2022.
