Speaker says move brings PH closer to free healthcare goal
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office will now allow indigent patients to use its guarantee letter to cover the professional fees of doctors starting October 30.
“PCSO’s guarantee letter is applied after the final billing – meaning after PhilHealth, DSWD and other health coverages. But what usually happens is that almost the entire medical bill is already covered by PhilHealth, and what’s left are the professional fees of doctors,” PCSO General Manager Mel Robles told Manila Standard in an interview.
“Before, the guarantee letter cannot be used to cover doctor’s fees, but now we are changing that policy. We can pay the professional fees now and in a timely manner. This will address the situation wherein the patient is stuck at the hospital and you accumulate a larger amount of bill just because you are yet to settle the professional fee dues,” he added.
For example, a patient who receives a guarantee letter worth P50,000 from PCSO can use it to settle the remainder of his or her medical bill.
If the patient has an outstanding balance of P8,000 after the final billing, the PCSO guarantee letter will shoulder this, and the remaining P42,000 can be used to cover doctor’s fees.
“If the guarantee letter can cover all of the doctor’s fees, then everything is settled. If the doctor’s fees are more than the guarantee letter, then at least a portion of it is already covered by PCSO,” Robles said.
“PCSO is really for augmentation. The main health coverage system is PhilHealth,” he added.
Observers, however, noted that the challenge is really that of hospitals who refuse to accept guarantee letters other than that of DSWD.
“Some hospitals are really choosy. They only accept GLs from DSWD. But what if you are indigent and the bill is too high? Where will you get the money to cover the remainder of your bill?” said a writer who experienced it firsthand when her mother was hospitalized this year.
“You end up staying in the hospital longer and your remaining medical bill grows because you are stuck in that situation where you don’t have the means to pay the remaining bill. Bill shock talaga ang mangyayari,” she added.
For his part, Speaker Martin Romualdez said: “We are grateful to our PCSO GM for answering the grievances of our health care professionals, especially on the issue of professional fees.”
On Wednesday, Romualdez met with Robles and Philippine Medical Association president Dr. Hector Santos Jr.
The meeting, facilitated by Deputy Majority Leader for Communications and ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, was also attended by House Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr.; House Committee on Appropriations chairman and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co; and House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe.
Robles told Romualdez that by the end of October, the new guidelines will already be implemented.
“Free health care for all Filipinos – that’s what we want, and that’s what our President said,” Romualdez said. “We will continue to look at other ways and means to make healthcare more accessible and universally acceptable and free to all the Filipino people.”
Co, for his part, underscored the importance of paying doctors in a timelier manner.
“We cannot have a system that is delayed in paying doctors. We need to ensure that our doctors are paid on time. If the doctors are paid immediately, more medical professionals would be willing to help under health coverage programs,” he said.
