SEREMBAN: The adoptive and step-parents of civil servants are now eligible for free medical treatment at Government hospitals and clinics.
Under a circular issued by the Public Service Department, they can also claim reimbursements from the Government if they have no choice but to seek treatment at private medical centres.
Public Service director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam said these parents would be accorded the same privilege, currently enjoyed by the biological parents of civil servants, as long as their child was still in the service.
“The Government has decided to extend this benefit to the adoptive and step-parents of the civil servants.
“However, their ties must be legalised and the relevant documentation stating their relationship must be submitted to the authorities before they can benefit from this,” he said of the ruling, which took effect from Nov 1.
He said civil servants must notify their department heads of the relationship with their adoptive and step-parents, and have these personal details entered into their service record.
“The privilege is only given to adoptive or step-parents residing in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the benefit would also be extended to those parents, whose child was employed on a contractual or temporary basis.
Ismail said if the adoptive or step- parent was himself a pensioner, then he could also either choose to use his own entitled benefits or that of his civil servant child.
He said adoptive and step-parents could seek treatment at the nearest private medical centre or clinic if there was no public hospital or clinic nearby, provided if it was a “life-threatening emergency.”
The parents, added Ismail, could also claim for seeking specialist treatment at private hospitals if they had first been examined by a Government doctor.
“To be treated at the National Heart Institute, the parents must be referred by a physician or cardiologist from a Government or private hospital,” he said, adding that there parents were however not entitled to receive medical treatment abroad.
Ismail said these parents were however not entitled to cosmetic and orthodontic treatment, such as crowning and dentures, or that which was preventive in nature.
“The parents can seek reimbursement if they need to undergo dialysis or to buy medicine not availabe at public health facilities.
“These claims must first be approved by the respective civil servant’s department head,” he said.
When contacted, Cuepacs president Omar Osman said the new ruling would greatly reduce the financial burden on civil servants with adoptive or step-parents.
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