House reps want hospitals to make public price list of services, supplies

Ilocos Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba | PHOTO: Official website of the House of Representatives / congress.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines — Noting that the exorbitant cost of health care may push patients to resort to self-medication instead of seeking proper treatment, two lawmakers want to require health-care facilities to practice transparency by making public the prices of their services being offered, incidental expenses, and medical supplies.

House Bill No. 9085, or the Healthcare Services Price Disclosure Act, was filed in September by Ilocos Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba while House Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto filed his own version, HB No. 6967, in January last year.

Both lawmakers stressed that mandating health-care facilities to provide a comprehensive and reliable price list of their services, rooms, medical supplies would be a “vital step toward transparency.”

In HB No. 9085’s explanatory note, Barba said that transparency would empower patients as “it [would] further safeguard them from misleading and unfair practices in the health-care system.”

For Recto, it would “enable patients to compare costs and freely decide where best to obtain the services or supplies they need.”

“Being informed of the prices in advance would also help the patients in estimating their medical bill when they are admitted to the health-care facility,” he said in his bill’s explanatory note.

Recto pointed out that because of the exorbitant cost of health care and the experiences of some patients who “invariably get billed for the slightest expense items,” some resort to self-medication at home or availing themselves of “other forms of medication that might pose a danger to their health” instead of getting the right treatment.

“Health-care facilities will be committed to share information that will help people make important decisions about their health, especially for people who lack financial resources,” he said.

Comprehensive price list

Under both bills, health-care facilities must provide a comprehensive list of prices for their services, incidental expenses and medical supplies to the public. They should also follow the price list in billing a patient upon admission. Any changes in prices will be valid only after the public is properly informed.

Barba’s version sought to authorize the Department of Health to determine penalties for noncompliance with the proposed law such as suspension or revocation of licenses to operate or practice.

Recto’s version, on the other hand, spelled out the proposed penalties for violators. These included fines ranging from P5,000 to P50,000 per violation, as well as suspension or cancellation of the license to practice medicine or the facility’s license to operate.

Both bills are still pending before the House health committee.