Latest news with #Financeand
The Star
24-06-2025
- Health
- The Star
New committee addresses private healthcare costs
PETALING JAYA: The Finance and Health Ministries have established a joint ministerial committee on private healthcare costs (JBMKKS) to guide and monitor initiatives aimed at reducing private healthcare costs and medical inflation. The committee will include representatives from both ministries and Bank Negara Malaysia supported by a consultative council comprising key stakeholders in the private healthcare ecosystem. 'These representatives will include those from private hospitals, healthcare professionals, insurance and Takaful providers, consumer advocacy groups, and academia. 'The council will provide a dedicated platform for industry players to work together and contribute their expertise towards our shared goal of ensuring affordable and accessible private healthcare for all Malaysians,' both ministries said in a joint press statement on Tuesday (June 24). Co-chaired by Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, the committee will plan and implement solutions to provide better healthcare value. This will include building on previous initiatives, such as implementing co-payment requirements by Bank Negara and interim measures to reduce the impact of medical premium adjustments for policyholders from 2024 to 2026. The committee will also work on Bank Negara's health financing initiative to reduce medical inflation, the Reset framework, focusing on five strategic thrusts, starting with restructuring medical and health insurance/Takaful (MHIT). This will include increasing price transparency, strengthening the digital health ecosystem, expanding cost-effective care options, and reforming provider payment systems. 'The framework reflects a holistic commitment to implement solutions such as value-based care, prioritising health outcomes. 'Such initiatives will deliver tangible benefits to all Malaysians by easing congestion and overcrowding in public hospitals and clinics,' Dzulkefly said in the joint press statement. Having held its first committee meeting on Tuesday, the ministries said key initiatives were already underway under Reset, featuring the development of basic MHIT products that balance affordability and sustainability. Work is also being done on developing a diagnosis-related group (DRG)-based payment system for phased implementation and enhancing price transparency. 'This joint committee reflects our commitment to collaborate with all stakeholders in shaping a sustainable, transparent, and truly value-driven private healthcare system. 'Ultimately, this is about protecting the well-being of Malaysians and strengthening our nation's resilience,' Amir Hamzah said in the joint press statement. Malaysia's current medical inflation rate stands at a noticeably high 15%, compared with the regional average of 11%, according to data from Aon International Insurance Brokers, as mentioned by Bank Negara governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour on June 18.
CTV News
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Arousing discussion at city hall: Barrie council weighing on burlesque as ‘adult entertainment'
Barrie city councillors are reconsidering how 'burlesque dancing' is treated under the city's Adult Entertainment Bylaw. A move that could separate it from other forms of adult entertainment. At Wednesday's committee meeting, Barrie councillors discussed the motion related to the bylaw established in 2005. The proposal involved dissecting how other municipalities have distinguished burlesque from other forms of adult entertainment, like stripping. The idea to push this forward was sparked from a local burlesque group that was recently prevented from holding a performance due to how the current bylaw is written. While the bylaw does not specifically mention burlesque, it defines Adult Entertainment Establishment – Class B as: 'Any venue offering entertainment that is designed to arouse or result in an erotic or sexual response' - language which has tied burlesque into the same stigma associated with more explicit forms of adult entertainment. During the meeting, Bryn Hamilton, Ward 10 councillor, expressed concern about the focus of the discussion. 'I read this, and I will say that I was a little taken aback as to why this was something we were discussing,' said Hamilton. 'I revisited the committee's terms of reference and objective just to understand the driving reason behind this.' Ward 4 councillor Amy Courser emphasized the importance of updating the 20-year-old bylaw to distinguish burlesque from other forms of adult entertainment. 'There is a distinct difference between burlesque and stripping. The style is completely different. Burlesque is vintage, playful, artistic. It's absolutely a celebration of the woman's body,' Courser said. 'Many municipalities have already modernized the language of their bylaws.' This raised the question if adult-themed performances should remain under the same regulations. Clare Riepma, Ward 1 councillor, addressed the bylaw's language, noting how burlesque is accepted as a legitimate art form in many municipalities. 'Apparently burlesque is a form of art and there is quite an arts community that is very supportive of this,' said Riepma. 'They would like to operate here in Barrie.' Jason Forgave, supervisor of enforcement services, noted that the local studio which regularly performs burlesque in public with ticketed events encountered issues due to the bylaw's language. 'The bylaw doesn't mention burlesque, but it does talk to the nature of the act and the reaction from the crowd,' Forgave said. 'That's where our interpretation and enforcement has come from.' Courser proposed modernizing the bylaw and reflecting on the evolving understanding of what 'adult entertainment' means to the City of Barrie. Council was in favor of this decision and the motion will be passed to the Finance and Responsible Governance Committee.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Montana Senate unanimously passes property tax bill to credit residential payers
Photo illustration by Getty Images. In an outcome that surprised even the sponsor, senators voted unanimously Wednesday to support a bill that takes $56 million paid by tourists and returns it to property taxpayers. Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, sponsored Senate Bill 90 and said he believes the unanimous support indicates the strong appetite this session for property tax relief, although he said he wasn't expecting to get approval from all 50 senators. 'This is what people sent us here to do, was to fix property taxes,' Glimm said. The bill was harshly criticized in its original form in committee because it took money from programs that support specific culture and tourism activities, but the committee amended it so the dollars come out of the general fund instead. The committee also reduced the amount of money going to residential property taxpayers. A fiscal note said the $56 million would come from the 75% of the lodging and rental taxes that goes into the general fund. 'With my bill, tourists would be helping pay for things like road infrastructure by taking some of that burden off property taxpayers. And the traveling Montana soccer mom paying the lodging tax at a hotel would get her money back, and much more, via property tax relief,' Glimm said in a statement. The bill will go to the Finance and Claims committee, where it will be considered alongside other proposals, but Glimm agreed the unanimous vote from the Senate, which has 32 Republicans and 18 Democrats, should lend it weight there. Before the Senate approved it, President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, successfully proposed an amendment to have the bill apply only to homes worth less than $1 million. It passed with 45 votes and just five Democrats against it. 'Senate Republicans are focused on providing property tax relief to people across the state,' Regier said in a statement. 'I look forward to advancing SB 90 and other bills that create a fairer and more effective tax system in Montana.' Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, supported the bill, but she opposed the amendment because of escalating home values. 'You don't have to look far to find a home in certain housing markets that's over $1 million,' Dunwell said. Glimm said the amendment meant the amount of average money to be credited to property taxpayers would increase some from an estimated $236 prior to the change. A precise amount was not immediately available. Property tax reduction is a bipartisan priority for the Montana Legislature this session, although different legislators have different ideas about the best way to make it happen. Several proposals advanced this week in both chambers. Glimm said the amount to be credited in SB 90 used to be even more, an estimated $400 before the bill was amended. In support of the bill, he said the session started with a surplus of some $2.3 billion. 'Just let that sink in because that's a lot of money,' Glimm said. Sen. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, described a couple of proposals heard Wednesday as 'audacious,' including SB 90. He said he knows that Montanans like collecting money from visitors because he represents a couple of tourist communities. 'What I like about this bill is it's predictable. It doesn't really need modeling,' Fern said. Some bills can affect counties differently based on the industries and residential payers that make up their tax bases, and number crunchers 'model' those impacts so legislators can see if the effects are disproportionate. Dunwell said the fiscal note is 'a little steep,' but she said the residential taxpayers paid $80 million more than they should have each year of the most recent biennium because of inequities among classes of taxpayers, and the state kept it. 'Those taxpayers shouldn't have had to pay that. This helps give some of it back,' Dunwell said. With some bills, Glimm said people talk about winners and losers, but this one is different. 'Everybody is a winner here.'
