Private doctors urge SST exemption on foreign workers' primary healthcare
Dr Shanmuganathan said that as an alternative, the government could implement a temporary moratorium on the tax to allow time to explore a fair and sustainable healthcare financing mechanism. – Photo by Rodnae Productions/Pexels
KUCHING (June 28): The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM) has proposed for the government to fully exempt primary care services for foreign workers from the Sales and Services Tax (SST).
FPMPAM president Dr Shanmuganathan Ganeson said that as an alternative, the government could implement a temporary moratorium on the tax to allow time to explore a fair and sustainable healthcare financing mechanism.
'We have formally submitted an appeal to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), urging an urgent exemption from the upcoming six per cent SST on primary healthcare services provided to foreign workers, scheduled to take effect on July 1,' he said in a statement yesterday.
Dr Shanmuganathan said although the Foreign Workers Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomena) screenings remained exempt, many foreign workers would still require outpatient care for common illnesses, injuries, and chronic conditions — essential services typically paid for out-of-pocket by the workers themselves, or arranged through employer or Third-Party Administrator (TPA) programmes.
Under the new SST rules, such services would be taxed once a clinic's annual revenue exceeds RM1.5 million.
Dr Shanmuganathan said: 'The foreign workers are already vulnerable and underserved, and the SST to basic medical treatment risks deterring them from seeking timely care, delaying diagnosis, and ultimately compromising public health.
'We are also concerned about the eight per cent SST on commercial property rentals, which would further escalate operating costs for clinics renting shoplots, medical suites, or office units.
'These taxes compound the strain on solo and small-group practices that have seen no fee adjustments for decades.'
Dr Shanmuganathan also highlighted that the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) recently called for a broader reassessment of the SST expansion, citing its potential to harm the business environment and consumers.
'FPMPAM echoes this concern, urging the MoF to prioritise public health and service sustainability.
'FPMPAM also notes a policy anomaly where beauticians and cosmeticians, which are not related to essential health, now have no tax, whilst tax is imposed for essential health and medical services.'
Nonetheless, Dr Shanmuganathan said the federation stood ready to work with the MoF to ensure that tax policies would not inadvertently undermine access to essential healthcare or threaten the survival of community clinics.
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