Public hospitals charging indigent patients to be fined heavily – PhilHealth chief

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Public hospitals that will  charge indigent patients either for professional fee or medicines will  soon be fined  by the Philippine Health Insurance  Corp. (PhilHealth) for violation of the so-called “no balance billing” system,  its president said on Tuesday.

Under the “no balance billing” system, indigent patients should not pay a single centavo when they go to a public hospital, lawyer Alexander Padilla, president and executive chief officerof PhilHealth, told reporters after attending   the hearing of the Senate committee on health.

“Wala ho syang dapat binabayad ni singko for medicines, professional fees o kaya diagnostic o anumang gastos (He should not pay a single centavo for medicines, professional fees or diagnostic or any other expenses),” Padilla said.

If the medicines are  not available in the hospital, then  Padilla said the hospital itself should  buy the medicines or    give the patients the money to buy  the medicines .

But  the  PhilHealth  chief disclosed  during the  hearing  that some  hospitals  only admit  indigent   patients “upon discharged.”

“So pagpalabas  na raw yung pasyente saka na lang nila ginagawang mahirap. In the meantime nakapagbayad ng mga gamot, professional fee etc.,” he pointed out.

(When the patient is about to leave the hospital, that’s the only time they admit him as indigent. In the meantime, they have already paid for their medicines, professional fees, etc.)

Padilla said the  enrolment of “point of care” system  should start  upon the admission of the patients in the hospital.

“On the very day of admission. So dapat walang binabayarang mga gastos,” he  further said.

To address this problem, Padilla said PhilHealth would formulate a policy where hospitals would be charged three times the amount of what they charged to indigent patients.

This new policy, he said, could take effect in a month or two.

During the hearing , Ana Maria Nemenzo, national coordinator of the Woman Health Philippines, suggested that  children under five  years old or their parents as well as persons with  disabilities  (PWDs) should be automatically enrolled as PhilHealth members.

“Ito po palaging nilang sinasabi (This is what they always say) they are always marginalized. Hindi po talaga nakakaabot sa kanila ang mga serbisyo (The services don’t really reach them),” Nemenzo said.

But Padilla pointed out that the New PhilHealth  Law  already covered  abandoned, neglected and abused children as  well as women  who are about to give birth .

Asked  after the hearing if  it was possible to cover all children under five years old and the PWDs,  Padilla said  they have yet to  study the proposal.

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