B40 National Protection Scheme gets thumbs-up
MIRI: Members of the public here welcomed the federal government’s move to introduce National Protection Scheme which offers free health insurance and takaful protection to those in the B40 group starting Jan 1 next year.
According to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on Friday, the scheme with an initial fund of RM2 billion is expected to benefit 4.1 million individuals aged between 18 and 55 from the B40 households.
Several members of the public here who were interviewed generally said that it is a good move to help the low income group.
However, they said much has to be done to ensure the implementation of the scheme will achieve its objective.
Miri Indian Association (MIA) chairman Cr Karambir Singh opined that the scheme is good and hoped that it will be up and running smoothly without any hiccup.
He also hoped that the scheme will not take away funding meant for our hospitals.
“Another area of concern is that people with critical illnesses, for example cancer, usually need long-term care which cost a lot of money.Surely RM8,000 is not enough,” he said.
Under the scheme, recipients will receive up to RM8,000 which will be disbursed within a period to be announced later.
“At the moment, government hospitals have acted as the safety net for the people and more should be invested in this sector particularly for the public healthcare system in Sarawak. This would provide coverage to all age groups as what it does currently,” he added.
Karambir who is also Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) assistant secretary-general said in the absence of more details, I would welcome this scheme cautiously as we are not sure what other issues may arise.
Meanwhile, Regina Teng, a life planner with an insurance company here shared Karambir’s view saying the public need to have more details on the scheme especially the coverage exclusion.
“The word insurance is good. If the policy is free, take it but the people must not depend on the government or the insurance company. For any policy even when it says comprehensive, the people must educate themselves especially on the exclusion aspect in the policy. Otherwise there will be arguments or complications later when claiming insurance benefit,” said Teng who has been in the insurance industry for 27 years.
Malay paramount chief in Miri, Temenggong Abdul Rahman Fadzail also welcomed the scheme with some reservations.
“Generally the insurance scheme is good for the B40 group. But the age limit is a negative sign and many will not benefit from it. There should not be any age limit and only then senior citizens like me will be able to benefit from it,” he said.
“This scheme, the first of its kind in Malaysia, is guided by the Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) 14th General Election manifesto which aimed to improve access to muchneeded health services, ease the cost of living and improve the people’s wellbeing,” he added.
B40 refers to households earning RM2,500 and below which puts them at the bottom 40 per cent of the nation’s income pyramid.
Lim had announced on Friday the scheme will provide assistance to those qualified to cope with hardship arising from health issues against 36 critical illness and hospitalisation that may adversely impact the household income.
The scheme, he said, also provides daily payment as income replacement in the event of hospitalisation for up to 14 days at RM50 per day or RM700 per year.
“Coverage under the scheme commences Jan 1 next year and the scheme’s registration and customer support services will be in operation from March 1, 2019,” he added.
Lim said registration could be made over the Internet without the use of hard copy forms and no medical examination is required for qualification checks.
All qualified recipients under the scheme will be notified through short message service (SMS) messages.
“Further information on the mechanism and implementation of the scheme will be disclosed when it is officially launched,” Lim said.