Malaysia will charge more for foreigners who seek medical treatment at the country's government hospitals in a bid to ease the government's burden on medical subsidies and provide better healthcare for its citizens, local media reported on Sunday.

Beginning next year, foreigners will no longer enjoy health subsidies given to locals and they will be classified as "full- payment" patients, Malaysian Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said at Johor Baru in the state of Johor on Saturday.

The new rates would be fixed later based on the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) schedule and implemented stage by stage, he said.

Currently, foreigners pay fees charged on local first class patients, 15 ringgit (four U.S.dollars) for outpatient treatment, 500 ringgit (133.3 U.S. dollars) for normal childbirth delivery, and 1,000 ringgit (266.7 U.S. dollars) for Caesarean section. But under the MMA schedule, charges for normal childbirth delivery is 800 ringgit (213.3 U.S.dollars), and Caesarean section costs 2,250 ringgit (600 U.S. dollars).

The Malaysian government imposed the first class charges for foreigners at government hospitals in June last year, but as many as 26 percent of foreigners warded in hospitals used false documents and did not pay, Chua said.

The government subsidized 98 percent of medical costs for Malaysians and it felt only the locals should enjoy the subsidies, he said.

The measure was to encourage foreigners to seek treatment at private hospitals, he added.

Source: Xinhua