PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants a clearer and smoother implementation of the “zero-hospital billing” policy in all government hospitals amid reports of long queues and confusion among patients and hospital staff.
The President also said that the zero-hospital billing should cover the prescribed medicines of the patients, including those that would be bought in pharmacies and those to be bought by outpatients.
The President yesterday visited the Eastern Visayas Medical Center in Tacloban City in Leyte to personally check if the policy was being implemented and if there were issues that should be cleared and addressed.
“I wanted to see if the implementation of the zero billing is good and being implemented. We have heard that there were long queues while some did not know what to do. But I saw here that everybody knows what they are supposed to do,” Marcos said.
He said that the concept is fairly new, which causes some confusion.
“We just have to make sure that all hospitals in the Philippines are aware of the procedure because this is new. But I think they can do it because it is clear what PhilHealth is, what is under the DOH, and who is qualified. Almost all are qualified,” he added.
The President announced in his State of the Nation Address last month that “zero-hospital billing” would be implemented in all government hospitals nationwide.
The bills for all hospital services, which include hospital bills, professional fees, laboratory tests, operating room services and medicines, are to be covered by PhilHealth, provided that the patient stays in the ward.
Patients who opt to stay in private rooms in government hospitals would have to shoulder part of the fees for the room and corresponding services.
Marcos assured the public that the government would continue to improve the healthcare system to ensure a smoother implementation and provision of healthcare services.
FREE MEDICINE
Before the event, the President, during the distribution of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO’s) 124 patient transport vehicles (PTVs) for Eastern Visayas in Ormoc City, said the government is still in the process of accrediting pharmacies.
It was not clear if it is limited to hospital pharmacies in both public and private hospitals or if private pharmacies that are not attached to any hospitals would be included in the accreditation to enable patients with prescriptions to get their free medicines.
“So, we’ll see how we can arrange it so that the patient comes in, gets checked, is given a prescription, whatever is needed for treatment. After the consultation, he goes to the pharmacy, he can buy what is in the prescription, it has credit,” the President said.
“What we are doing now, we are accrediting the pharmacies so that wherever outpatients go and they present the prescription, the medicine will be given to them for free,” Marcos added.
During the PTV distribution, the President said the government is also encouraging healthcare workers to stay and serve in the Philippines as part of his administration’s goal to strengthen the country’s healthcare system.
He wants all cities and towns to have at least one doctor, as he emphasized that every citizen deserves access to timely and affordable healthcare.
Marcos acknowledged that many Filipinos still have difficulty accessing health services due to convenience and finances, making it sometimes too late for them to get treatment.
However, he said that some ailments can be managed at the local level if barangay health facilities are fully equipped.
He vowed that the government will continue to expand health initiatives at the grassroots level, which include enhancing barangay health facilities, establishing specialty centers in various regions, and maintaining the one-doctor-per-local government unit policy.
The President said the government is also preparing to start the second round of distribution of PTVs by the end of the year once they have completed the distribution of the ambulances to all 1,173 cities and municipalities in the country.
Marcos says the PCSO has distributed a total of 1,642 PTVs nationwide and some of the local government units that received the PTVs yesterday were first-time beneficiaries.
These are Abuyog, Jaro, Kananga, Matalom, and Santa Fe, all in Leyte province; Tagapul-an in Samar; General MacArthur, Salcedo, and San Policarpio in Eastern Samar; and Lapinig, San Vicente, and Silvino Lobos in Northern Samar.
Each ambulance has a stretcher, oxygen tank, blood pressure monitor, first aid kit, and other essential medical tools.
Among those who attended the event were PCSO General Manager Melquiades Robles and Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres.
