DOH’s ‘No Balance Billing’ For 87 Hospitals Only

The Department of Health clarified on Tuesday, July 29, the government’s “no balance billing” policy will only cover the 87 hospitals directly under the DOH and not government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) hospitals.

DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said the department will prioritize its 87 hospitals first and will include GOCC-operated facilities later.

GOCC hospitals include the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

“These (GOCC) hospitals will not be implementing the no balance billing policy yet. They are working on a large budget. We can see they have reserved funds. We will first have this policy adopted by the 87 DOH hospitals and eventually, we will include them,” Domingo said in a radio interview.

He added that the public can check the list of DOH hospitals posted on the Facebook page of the Presidential Communications Office.

“If you intend to avail of the medical services provided by a DOH hospital and for the zero billing to be applied in your case, please state your request that you want to be admitted under the basic accommodation or in the ward section,” Domingo explained.

He also corrected the misconception that ward accommodation is substandard, saying, “It is different now. We are changing that impression. Even the ward now is air-conditioned.”

However, he clarified that if a patient wants a solo room with amenities such as a television, this will not be covered.

Domingo assured the public that basic medical equipment and services such as ultrasound are available at DOH hospitals.

The DOH also said that the President promised to increase the budget for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) for these hospitals.

“Based on the President’s directive, there is an additional budget for MOOE of the DOH hospitals. The MOOE is what we call quantified free service from the DOH fund,” Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said during the post-SONA discussion at the San Juan National Government Center.

The DOH chief reiterated that ward accommodation means enjoying an air-conditioned space.

“The ward of 40 of the 87 DOH hospitals are now air-conditioned. I can even accompany you to check it. It will not look like the patients there are pitiful,” said Herbosa.

“As long as you don’t get admitted in a private hospital, you will enjoy the no-balance billing. As long as it is basic accommodation in any DOH hospital, it will be free of charge,” he added.

According to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), the zero-balance policy has been implemented since 2011 but was initially limited to the poor.

“That was limited to the indigents only. This time with the new directive from the President, any patient, as long as they avail of basic accommodation at any DOH hospital, will benefit from this no-balance billing policy,” said Rey Baleña, PhilHealth vice president for corporate affairs.

Healthy spaces

Following President Marcos’ call to create more active spaces, the DOH said on Tuesday it fully supports the initiative to provide Filipinos with more healthy public spaces.

“The Department will support President Bongbong Marcos’ mandate to open public spaces, such as parks and plazas, and make them more accessible,” the DOH said in a social media post.

The DOH stressed that the creation of more healthy public open spaces will encourage Filipinos to pursue a more active lifestyle.

The department added that through the use of the “Healthy Public Open Spaces Playbook,” local government units (LGUs) can be guided on how to come up with measures encouraging an active lifestyle.

“This Playbook is complete with guidelines that LGUs can use to encourage the public to be active, exercise and play sports in open spaces,” the DOH said.

The Playbook aims to develop healthy public open spaces that are inclusive and accessible to everyone, including children, the elderly, persons with disabilities and even pets. It also aims to be a safe face for all genders, remain free from smoking, vaping, alcohol and drugs, and uphold eco-friendly, sustainable and non-polluting standards. They should also be climate- and disaster-resilient, promote local culture, arts and heritage, and be properly staffed, managed and maintained.

It added that the LGUs can coordinate with the regional DOH offices as to the use of this Playbook.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered Monday, President Marcos said his administration will promote sports competitions, more games, fun runs, walkathons, aero-bics and Zumba.

The President urged all LGUs to open their parks and plazas where more people can engage in more physical activities.