DOH says no public hospital price hike to come from fuel hikes

The Department of Health announced that it was not set to implement an increase in service charge for its public hospitals amid the ongoing fuel price volatility in the market.

Health undersecretary Albert Domingo asserted that hospital fees at all of the DOH’s supervised facilities were going to remain the same in coming weeks.

“Meron tayong mga DOH hospitals, 82 strong nationwide, kasama na yung apat na GOCC hospitals, ay hindi ho magtataas ng presyo yan, kahit magtaas ng presyo ang mga private pag inutos ng pangulo,” he explained during an interview with a radio program this Sunday.

Domingo’s statements come from a recent pronouncement from the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) which said that they were considering raising their charges due to unsustainable conditions due to the rising cost of various products.

The group’s president, Jose Rene de Grano, said that the possible increase would amount to around five percent to cover different supplies.

“Hopefully, the increase will not be that substantial. It will depend on how the hospitals can be resilient and can sustain their present situation without increasing their rate,” he said.

With the projected surge at hand, Domingo said that the DOH had no control over any potential hikes in service charges for private companies and that they were not necessarily against the markup.

However, he hoped that private hospitals would unbundle their costs to get a better understanding of where the additional charges would be allocated.

“Ang nangyayari kasi ngayon pagka tayo ay na-ospital sa mga private hospitals, meron tayong sinasabi na room rate…nag-iiba yung presyo tapos per day yung singil, pero hindi nakasulat dun kung magkano ba ang para sa kuryente, magkano para sa tubig, magkano para sa pasweldo sa mga health workers, magkano para dun sa gasolina na ginagamit para sa ambulansya,” he said.

Domingo further noted that the unbundling would allow the DOH to compare the breakdown to the strategic purchasing and financing of their public hospitals.