Selgate: How Selangor is using private hospitals to cut public healthcare waiting times

SHAH ALAM, June 20 — The Selangor state government continues to expand access to affordable healthcare through its Selgate Healthcare hospital network, in efforts to help the public cope with rising medical costs and insurance premiums.

State Public Health and Environment Committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said Selgate Specialist Hospital Rawang, which was launched last May, is now part of the Hospital Services Outsourcing Programme (HSOP), under which selected patients may be referred to private hospitals for treatment.

She said the move would not only provide faster access to treatment for patients, but also ease congestion at public healthcare facilities.

“The Selangor State Government is strengthening cooperation between Selgate and insurance companies, Takaful operators, third-party administrators (TPAs) and the corporate sector to ensure that the treatment pricing structure remains affordable, particularly for the B40 and M40 groups,” she told Bernama.

In addition, Jamaliah said Iltizam Selangor Sihat (ISS) beneficiaries can seek treatment for illnesses and services covered under the programme via the Selgate ecosystem.

She added that the integration between Selcare Management Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the state government, and the SELangkah application would enable more efficient registration, eligibility verification and management of health benefits.

“The state government’s goal is to ensure that the people not only receive health assistance, but are also able to access these benefits easily when they need treatment,” she said.

Meanwhile, head of the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Prof Dr Mohd Arshil Moideen described the affordable private hospital model introduced by Selgate as an intervention that could help narrow the gap in people’s access to treatment amid rising medical costs and insurance premiums.

He said the initiative could also serve as a short-term solution to help reduce congestion at government hospitals, but stronger formal integration between the public and private sectors was needed to ensure more comprehensive benefits.

“Through the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) targeted service purchase mechanism, public funds could be used to finance certain procedures for B40 patients at hospitals like Selgate, thereby helping to ease congestion at government hospitals more effectively,” he said.

Dr Mohd Arshil said the long-term sustainability of the affordable private hospital model hinges on diversifying revenue sources to address challenges posed by global medical inflation and currency weakness.

He also suggested the use of high-quality generic medicines to help control treatment costs and reduce reliance on imported drugs and equipment.

“As a government-linked company, Selgate can leverage its scale to manage its own pharmacy chain and strengthen its corporate primary healthcare package, which is more preventive in nature,” he said.

Last May, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the official opening of Selgate Specialist Hospital Rawang would help meet demand for specialist services in the northern corridor of Selangor, which is experiencing rapid population growth.

He said the 224-bed hospital would not only cater to private healthcare needs, but also form part of the state government’s efforts to widen access to healthcare benefits for the people. — Bernama