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Private hospitals have called off a plan to stop admitting patients starting today and every third Friday of the month in protest against a new law that bans private hospitals and clinics from detaining patients who could not pay their bills.
Edlane Ulama, Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) executive director, said they agreed during a dialogue with Health Undersecretary Alex Padilla yesterday afternoon that the PHAP will help the Department of Health formulate the implementing rules and regulations for Republic Act 9439, the Hospital Detention Act.
“This is a win-win situation for the good of all patients,” she said.
The ban against holding patients in arrears “might kill hospitals” because “of 100 patients who give promissory notes, only two percent actually come back to pay,” Ulama said.
Under the Hospital Detention Act, indebted patients can be made to draw promissory notes instead of preventing them from checking out of private hospitals and clinics.
The PHAP is comprised of around 300 hospitals, among them the
If the PHAP’s “hospital holiday” protest had pushed through, private hospitals and clinics would have only admitted emergency cases starting today, and every third Friday of the month until December.
‘Tap Philhealth funds’
Meanwhile, a professor at the Asian Institute of Management in
Speaking at a symposium of the Philippine Marketing Association at Hotel Sofitel in Makati yesterday, Emmanuel Leyco, AIM Health Care Management Program director, said the PHIC can tap its P54-billion fund to “increase the percentage of hospital bills” of patients, especially those covered by Philhealth.
“Philhealth should increase its financial support,” he said.
“They have huge reserves and they should spend more of these to help their members.”
‘Law applies only to charity patients’
On the other hand, Sen. Pia Cayetano clarified yesterday that the Hospital Detention Act applies only to charity patients, not those in private rooms.
The law is not meant to exempt patients from paying their hospital bills, but prohibits hospitals from prolonging the detention of patients who are not able to pay their medical expenses, she added.
Cayetano, Senate committee on health and demography chairwoman, said the law also does not prohibit hospitals from imposing different payment schemes for patients admitted in private rooms.
Other possible sources of funds may still be tapped to cover for unpaid bills, she added.
Cayetano said the law will not drive private hospitals into bankruptcy since it would open different payment schemes to allow patients to settle their hospital bills within reasonable bounds.
“I share the view that the problem of unpaid hospital bills is but a symptom of a bigger crisis in the health sector that could be dealt with more comprehensively, not only through legislation, but through health sector reforms,” she said.
She had been consistently pushing for the universal coverage of the Philhealth and an increase in its benefits to reduce out-of-pocket expenses of patients, Cayetano said. – With
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