DOH eyes safeguards vs high doctors’ fees

The Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday it is studying reforms to protect patients from exorbitant professional fees (PFs) charged by doctors.

In a dzBB interview, DOH spokesperson Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said doctors’ PFs in the Philippines are largely unregulated and are determined by physicians themselves.

He noted that this arrangement allows some doctors to charge excessively high fees and pointed out that similar systems do not exist in many other countries.

“Sa mundo ng healthcare, ang PF ay isang very sensitive issue kasi ang doctor ang nagseset ng PF niya. Pero alam niyo ba, sa ibang bansa, hindi doctor ang nagse-set? Puwede yung gobyerno, o kung hindi gobyerno, yung medical association,” Domingo said.

(In healthcare, PF is a very sensitive issue because doctors set their own fees. But in other countries, it is not the doctors who set these fees; it can be the government or the medical association.)

Domingo said the lack of regulation makes it difficult for the government to fully cover patients’ hospital bills, especially when doctors unilaterally set their professional fees.

“Hanggang mangyari ’yan, hirap kaming bayaran ng 100% ang bills kasi kapag sinabi ng doctor na ito ang PF ko, kailangan naming sundin. Technically, doctors are contractors, but not in a negative sense because they have contracts with hospitals. Iyan ang dapat naming tutukan,” he said.

(Until that happens, it is difficult for us to pay 100% of the bills because when a doctor declares a certain PF, it has to be followed. Technically, doctors are contractors, but not in a negative sense, because they have contracts with hospitals. That is what we need to address.)

Domingo said the DOH has been coordinating with the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and has encouraged the group to take the lead in setting PF tariff ranges.

“Lagi naming sinasabi na ang medical association ang mag-lead sa pag-set ng tariffs dahil may moral authority sila na pag-usapan ito at matigil na yung masyadong malawak na range ng PF. Mag-usap-usap tayo,” he said.

(We have consistently said that the medical association should lead in setting tariffs because it has the moral authority to convene discussions and address the excessively wide range of PFs.)

He said the proposed tariffs would serve as safeguards against excessively high medical costs.—MCG, GMA Integrated News