KLANG: The Social Security Organisation (Socso) paid spent RM334.67mil on dialysis treatments for its contributors in 2022, says V. Sivakumar.
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The Human Resource Minister said Socso receives 2,000 to 3,000 new applications from contributors for dialysis treatments annually.
“In 1999, the dialysis treatment cost borne by Socso was RM1.12mil and the cost as well as the number of contributors needing treatment has gone up in the past two decades.
“It is estimated that the cost of dialysis treatment borne by Socso will be half a billion ringgit in 10 years,” he said during the launch of Socso’s new dialysis centre here on Thursday (July 6).
Sivakumar said new facility could save Socso up to RM168 a month per patient.
Socso introduced dialysis facilities for contributors suffering from end-stage kidney disease in 1999.
Sivakumar said the new centre can treat 18 patients a day.
“As of June, more than 17,486 insured persons or workers covered by Socso are receiving dialysis treatment from more than 707 dialysis centres in its panel.
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“With the new facility, Socso will be able to save RM2,016 annually for each patient,” he said.
Sivakumar also said the establishment of the Socso dialysis centre was timely as non-communicable diseases (NCD), including diabetes, are a serious global health issue.
“The World Health Organization report in 2022 shows that NCDs account for 74% or about 41 million cases of the total number of global deaths each year.
“The health screening programme by Socso last year also found 42% of workers have obesity problems, 14.1% of workers have diabetes, while 27.9 % have high blood pressure and 61.2 % have high cholesterol.
Also present at the launch was Socso chairman Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, Socso chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed and Klang MP V. Ganabatirau.
– The Star