Malaysia lifts hospital outsourcing fund to $48Mn to cut wait times
- Malaysia raised its hospital outsourcing allocation to RM200 million ($48 million).
- The funding rises from RM144 million ($34 million) under Budget 2027.
- HSOP refers public hospital patients to private hospitals for faster treatment.
- Patients pay government hospital rates while the programme covers the rest.
IPOH, MALAYSIA — Malaysia will send more public hospital patients to private facilities for faster care after raising funding for its Hospital Services Outsourcing Programme (HSOP) to RM200 million ($48 million) in Budget 2027. The bigger budget lets the Health Ministry take the scheme beyond the specialties it covers today.
A bigger budget and a wider scope
The Health Ministry will take HSOP into new areas after its allocation rose from RM144 million ($34 million), Deputy Health Director-General (Medical) Datuk Dr Mohd Azman Yacob said, according to Bernama. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the RM200 million for outsourcing patient treatment to other hospitals when he tabled Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat, as a way to reduce waiting times, particularly at government hospitals.
“With the allocation increased from RM144 million to RM200 million, we will focus on HSOP, including expanding it to several new areas deemed suitable,” Mohd Azman said. He said the extra funding would let the ministry refer more patients to private hospitals for faster treatment.
Introduced in 2024, HSOP currently covers patients who need treatment in nephrology, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, paediatric cardiology and radiology. Specialists at government hospitals select the patients, focusing on cases that need urgent treatment and diagnostic procedures.
Shorter waits at government rates
The ministry says the scheme is already cutting queues for scans. “This initiative has also proven effective in shortening patients’ waiting times at government hospitals, particularly for Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, which previously took between three and six months,” Mohd Azman said. He spoke at a press conference in Ipoh after a ceremony for a public-private cataract surgery programme with Perak Community Specialist Hospital.
Patients treated under HSOP still pay only government hospital rates, while the programme covers the rest of the private hospital bill. “For example, if the actual cost of treatment at a private hospital is RM3,000, the patient will pay the applicable government hospital rate, while the government covers the remaining cost through HSOP,” he said.
For private hospitals, a larger and broader HSOP means more referred patients whose bills are split between the patient and the ministry. Every case splits the bill between the patient, who pays the government rate, and the ministry, which covers the rest, adding work for medical billing and revenue cycle management (RCM) teams as volumes grow. Providers adding that back-office capacity can compare partners among the top BPO companies in Malaysia.
Related news
- Malaysia cuts tax to 5% for global services hubs in Budget 2027 · 13 Oct
- Healthcare AI job cuts hit billing and claims first: Bessemer, Bain · 9 Oct
- Six states require hospitals to auto-screen patients for charity care · 8 Oct
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
Stay ahead in healthcare outsourcing. Join thousands of healthcare and business leaders who rely on Outsource Accelerator for the news, trends, and expert insights shaping medical BPO and the future of care delivery. Subscribe to our free newsletter and never miss an update.
