100,000 S’wakians eligible for senior citizen health benefit scheme, says Fatimah

KUCHING (July 18): Around 100,000 senior citizens in Sarawak will be able to receive free medical treatment of up to RM500 each annually under the Senior Citizen Health Benefit (SCHB) initiative, said Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.

The Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister said the scheme provides eligible recipients with outpatient treatment facilities on a cashless basis at panel clinics in the state.

“We have so far identified 75,137 welfare recipients under our Sarawak Welfare Assistance Management (SWAM) and e-Kasih programmes who are eligible for SCHB.

“For applicants to be eligible for SCHB, they must be a Malaysian with an identity card bearing the ‘K’ status; aged 60 years and above; have a monthly household income of RM7,000 or below; and are not receiving outpatient treatment financing or protection from any other agency,” she said.

She was speaking at a press conference after chairing a meeting on SCHB at her office here yesterday.

Senior citizens can check their eligibility via https://sarawak.gov.my, https://kpwk.sarawak.gov.my/ or https://welfare.sarawak.gov.my from now until July 22.

Fatimah said they can submit their applications through these websites from July 22 onwards, after which the application results will be known within 30 days from the date the application was received.

She said eligible recipients will be able to get outpatient medical services at 168 private clinics, 77 dental clinics and 13 private hospitals which have been appointed as panels under SCHB.

“They can get treatment for health problems such as fever and cold, headache, diarrhoea and vomiting, sprain, mild skin irritation (allergy or itch), gout, mild trauma such as minor injuries, and so on.

“For dental clinics, SCHB can be used for extractions, fillings, and even dentures. However, the minimum charge for making dentures is RM250.”

She also said that services under SCHB do not include follow-up treatment for routine non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes; follow-up treatment of chronic diseases; health screenings that require a sample to be sent for laboratory test; telemedicine (virtual healthcare services); aesthetic treatment for beauty; and use of ambulance.

SCHB will be officially launched in Sibu by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg on Aug 10 in conjunction with the state-level Women’s Day celebration.