MAA-MEDIcare Kidney charity Fund

The MAA MediCare Kidney Charity Fund (Medicare) is a non-governmental organization established in 1994 as the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of MAA Assurance. MEDIcare functions as an independent, non-profit public trust fund. Our mission is to ease the financial burden of kidney patients and their families by providing affordable access to quality dialysis, healthcare and essential drugs at a subsidized cost.

From humble beginnings 17 years ago in a Jalan Ipoh shop lot equipped with just 7 machines and caring for 20 patients, Medicare has grown by leaps and bounds to become the second largest dialysis provider in Malaysia, caring for almost 712 patients in 12 centres across the country. The nerve centre of Medicare is the Secretariat Office located on the 2nd Floor of Wisma MAA-MEDIcare in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur .

To date, our 12 dialysis centres are operational in various cities and towns across Malaysia , including one centre each in the states of Sabah and Sarawak . Our 712 patients are taken care of with the help of 11 visiting nephrologists, 102 nursing staff and management team of 18, providing medical care and expertise to our patients including counselling services, dietary and nutrition advice, health checks and blood tests. Patients have access to a total of 178 dialysis machines which they depend upon three times a week for up to 4 hours per session.

Apart from highly subsidized dialysis treatments, Medicare also subsidizes treatment costs, blood tests, medication and EPO injections costing close to RM 3 million yearly. In line with the Ministry of Health¡¯s latest regulations and requirements, we have already relocated our centre in Kuching, Sarawak to serve 240 patients at full capacity while four other centres in Kajang, Kota Bharu, Butterworth and Teluk Intan has been refurbished. Last year, we have relocated our Jalan Sungai Besi and Johor Bharu centres, to larger and better equipped facilities to provide even better service to our patients. In an effort to be transparent, our annual report details how we utilize the money raised each year. Of this amount only approximately 4% goes to management costs.

At Medicare, we depend solely on the generosity and support of the public, corporate and private sectors to raise the much needed funds for our work to make dialysis accessible to needy patients from low and middle-income families in the country by subsidizing their health care needs and providing additional assistance such as for the KIDS@Medicare and Patient Welfare Fund. We continue to successfully do what we do thanks to the generosity of caring Malaysians.