In the original article from iMoney.my – 7 Price Hikes we can expect in 2014, it highlighted 7 known or lesser known hike in costs that is going to impact businesses and consumers alike. Just like in most things in life, you could complain – which would amount to nothing, or take measures to manage the resources we have (which is always limited). After all, in life, it is all about resource management just like any strategy game.
One thing just in – medical fees. That means the fees WILL be higher when you seek GP or Specialist Consultation. According to the President of MMA (Malaysia Medical Association), this has long been overdue 12 years ago.
I truly understand how physician feels because it isn’t exactly the easiest job (just ask your friends or clients who are in the medical line). After all, they too, have their dreams and goals to achieve in life ( they too had to pay mortgages and send their children to colleges), just like everyone of us, aside from being in a noble profession of treating illnesses and saving lives.
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“There is a misconception that GPs are raking in lots of profits when they were actually scraping the bottom of the barrel these days.”
“New consultation fees for a general practitioner had increased to between RM30 and RM125, as opposed to RM10-RM35 previously, while a visit to a specialist now costs up to RM235 for consultation alone, nearly double the previous cap of RM125.”
“Fees for medical procedures, however, increased between 14-18%.”
“Doctors do not get all the fees charged for services – for short surgical procedures, the ratio might be 40:60 of the total bill for specialist and hospital respectively while for more complex procedures and long staying patients, it might be as low 20-25% for specialist, while the rest were hospital charges.”
“A general practitioner in a standalone clinic was able to earn a monthly net income of RM40,000 in the Klang Valley, but it had since dropped to RM15,000.”
“Worrying trend was the increase in drug prices – including generic drugs – every few months and doctors had been absorbing the cost.”
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Other hikes you may or may not known as of now:
Electricity tariffs – 15%
DBKL assessment fees – 10% for commercial properties and 4% for residential properties
Toll – not announced yet at the time of this writing, but likely 50 cents to RM 2
Monorail, LRT and KTM – as a consequent of electricity tariff hike
Stationary for your children – 20 to 30 percent within Q1 2014 as a consequent of variety of factors, minimum wages implementation included. Got paperless, folks!
Ice (what?) – that means any iced drinks you order is going to cost more! Hike of 50 cents
School bus fares – operators in this business are apparently having “the straw that broke the camel’s back” scenario after absorbing all the rising costs from 2009 and numerous requests for hike had been rejected in the past.
I agree with the author, Iris when she wrapped up the article with this:
“Being frugal will play a part in managing money better this year, however, it may not be enough. Malaysians may need to take the initiative to not just save more, but also find other ways to create wealth.”