PAPO Statement on SBN 216

The Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO) is the umbrella organization of various
disease-specific patient groups in the Philippines. PAPO advocates for stronger patient
representation in health policy-making.

The Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO) supports Senate Bill 216, an Act
Increasing the Penalties for the Refusal of Hospitals and Medical Clinics to Administer
Appropriate Initial Medical Treatment and Support in Emergency Serious Cases amending the
previous Republic Act 8344 and Batas Pambansa 702.

According to IMS, the hospital sector is the fastest growing channel for medicines and in 2015,
Philhealth processed 8.4M claims amounting to 97B. Today, 9 out of 10 Filipinos is a Philhealth
member and the national subsidy for the poor and near-poor has expanded the hospital sector.
Therefore, there is a need for stronger regulation to ensure that affordable and quality hospital
care is ensured for every Filipino.

One of the glaring inequities is that the upper quintiles of the population have a higher utilization
of Philhealth benefits. One possible explanation is that the poor do not access hospital care
because of the out of pocket expenses that are associated with hospitalization. One of these is
the cost of emergency care which is currently not covered by Philhealth.

While PAPO recognizes that emergency care is not covered by Philhealth, we agree with the
provision to give incentives to medical facilities by allowing the expenses they have incurred for
these emergency cases to be deductible expense items from their income.

Another option would be also to consider asking patients needing

emergency care for proof of Philhealth membership. This serves
an assurance that hospital care will be covered including for
indigents for as long as accommodation is in a ward. Currently,
there is a No Balance Billing policy for indigents confined in
government hospitals. However, the reality is only 40% of
government hospitals comply with this ruling. There are many reasons for non-compliance such
as lack of medicines and supplies but this practice must stop. On the other hand, we urge private
hospitals to enter an agreement as a contracted hospital with Philhealth as there are plans to
consolidate all health financing thru them. Currently, the DOH and Philhealth are planning to
implement Essential Health Packages which reflect the entire provision of care and therefore
properly costed. We urge medical facilities to look at their mandate as a form of corporate social
responsibility and to run their business with responsible pricing in mind. We look forward to the
time when a maximum co-pay is clear and transparent for other Philhealth member types.

We fully support the increase in the penalties from PhP 100,000-500,000 to PhP 500,000 to
1,000,000. because there is an opportunity for the medical facility to recoup their expenses in the
event that the patient is unable to pay for the emergency care. We agree that in the event that the
medical facility commits three (3) violations, the Department of Health (DOH) may revoke the
permit.

Further, PAPO supports the proposal to create an Oversight Committee/Board that will
adjudicate administrative complaints by patients. This proposed Committee/Board will be
composed of five members and chaired by the Department of Health and composed of
representatives namely from the Philippine Medical Association, the Private Hospitals
Association of the Philippines, and two (2) Non-governmental organizations with public health
advocacy. PAPO is volunteering itself to be one of the NGOs which will participate in the
adjudication of these complaints. We would also like to recommend that the jurisdiction and
powers of these committee be further defined and the process be explicit to ensure transparency.

We hope that during the review and deliberation of this bill, our primary guiding principle will
align with Secretary of Health, Dr. Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial's flagship program, "All for Health,
Towards Health For All".

MARIA FATIMA GARCIA-LORENZO

PRESIDENT, PAPO