QC clinic backs probe on erring doctors in PhilHealth scam

THE Quezon City Eye Center (QCEC) backed on Tuesday the Philippine College of Physicians’ (PCP) call to investigate and penalize erring doctors, who had allegedly engaged in defrauding PhilHealth through false claims, but said it should be done “meticulously and with due process.”

Dr. Edgardo Aguirre, QCEC Medical Director, said he and his institution have always been supportive of any effort to remove the bad eggs from their profession but he lamented what he described as “arbitrary” act of PhilHealth when the agency suspended the payment of claims due to them without following the legal process.

“PhilHealth made its decision even without finishing its audit report and without giving us a chance to show documents to prove innocence. In fact, they have not shown any evidence to link us to this controversy aside from presenting bloated figures that we strongly contest, to the detriment of our reputation that we fear we cannot recover from,” Aguirre said in a statement.

“Dr. Leachon of PCP knows that any doctor is only worth as the reputation he has. And what PhilHealth did was a summary execution of our reputation,” he said, referring to PCP president Anthony Leachon.

Aguirre said PhilHealth already dragged the good name of the QCEC into the national limelight in the Senate hearings, which allegedly crucified the clinic in the eyes of the public.

“We are open to any investigation and we are even supportive of any effort to weed out the bad eggs in our industry. But PhilHealth violated our right to due process and, in doing so, damaged our reputation beyond repair,” the QCEC official said.

“We welcome the Senate investigation, sa ngayon pa lang lumalabas na ang mga kakulangan ng PhilHealth. Sen. Guingona himself expressed exasperation over PhilHealth’s inability to resolve with finality over 80 cases sitting in its appeals body. Sana gawin namang credible ng PhilHealth ang mga detalye ng accusations nito nang hindi nadadamay ang mga lehitimong institusyon kagaya namin.”

Guingona is Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, which is investigating the alleged fraudulent PhilHealth claims by some doctors and hospitals.

Earlier, QCEC accused PhilHealth of violating its own Circular No. 54 issued in 2012, which states that any institutional health care provider (IHCP) found in violation of agency circulars should receive feedback from PhilHealth “requesting for prompt action to implement corrective measures addressing said violations…” It directs the said IHCP to “submit a plan of action to correct the same within fifteen days from receipt of feedback from PhilHealth.”

But the QCEC said PhilHealth did no such thing.

“While we support any effort to curb the anomalous use of PhilHealth funds and will cooperate and even aid in any investigation, we ask that this be done properly and in accordance with the principles of due process as promulgated by PhilHealth itself in its circulars,” the QCEC said.