Solon wants amortized healthcare payment plan for COVID-19 patients

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Citing the expensive costs of COVID-19 treatment, a House official wants healthcare service providers to implement a 12-month payment plan to ease the woes of those settling hefty hospital bills.

House Bill 9310 or the “Patak-Patak COVID-19 Hospitalization Payment Plan” seeks to grant President Duterte the power to enforce interventions in the hospital fees of COVID-19 patients.

House deputy speaker and 1-PACMAN Rep. Michael Romero pointed out that even if the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has case rate packages for COVID-19, this is not enough for patients who will still need to shell out money for their hospital bills.

In the explanatory note of the bill, Romero cited “humanitarian” reasons and “in order to ease the burden of payment that our countrymen have to endure in these most trying of times.”

The bill was filed last May 7 and was referred to the House health panel when the lower chamber resumed plenary sessions last week.

“Various reports show that the medical expenses of COVID-19 positive Filipinos can easily go over P1 million, thereby placing financial hardships to COVID-19 positive Filipinos and their families who were already struck by the deadly pandemic,” the House deputy speaker said.

Philhealth covers cases of COVID-19 related pneumonia ranging from P43,997 for mild pneumonia up to P 786,384 for cases of critical pneumonia.

Treatment is very expensive as many patients and their families find themselves in debt or using up their savings for hospital bills which can exceed P1 million for a few days of confinement.

The measure proposes that public or private healthcare service providers be compelled to implement a minimum of 12-month amortization for COVID-19 patients settling their hospital bills on an installment basis.

The amortization will apply to the hospital charges not covered by Philhealth’s COVID-19 case rate packages and other subsidies provided by other agencies and local government units.

A healthcare service provider which does not implement the amortization plan for COVID-19 hospital charges will be fined P200,000 for each count of the offense. The hospital will also face a three-month suspension of their contract or accreditation with Philhealth.

This is apart from criminal charges with a corresponding prison term of up to six years.

/MUF