Southern Leyte Provincial Hospital. File Photo.
Southern Leyte Provincial Hospital. File Photo.

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, March 26 (PIA) – Indigent patients worrying all hospital billings will be a thing of the past.

According to OIC- Provincial Health Officer II Dr. Edmund Villa during the Provincial Report cable TV program aired simulcast with PIA-DySL radio program, every Tuesday, “ for the first time, this economic enterprise- system in managing the hospital operations, pushed by the present administration of Governor Roger Mercado, is pro-poor and even invigorates the hospital income, as well.”

The provincial, district and community hospitals will now adopt the economic enterprise system wherein all the income generated from the hospital operations shall no longer be remitted to the provincial government but will be utilized for its own operations and maintenance, he said.

Likewise the provincial government will no longer allocate funds for running the hospital operations including the salaries and other benefits of the hospital staff though hospital budget aid will continue, but, will solely be utilized for indigent assistance to ensure implementation of the No Balance Billing (NBB) program.

He noted that with the system, the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte can absorb all the excesses in hospital billings of the indigent patients, who are mostly PhilHealth members during hospitalization.

There is enough supply of medicines, hospital accommodation and food for all at the provincial, district and community hospitals, he added.

Villa noted, that the NBB can be readily enjoyed by the indigent patients, hence, they can go home without shelling out money from their pockets.

“ With the economic enterprise system, the hospital bills of all patients who are PhilHealth members are being reimbursed to the hospitals by PhilHealth, Inc, which would become the income generation for the hospitals, “ Provincial Health Officer I Dr. Noel Lumen disclosed.

While those in-patients availing of the private medical attention by private doctors shall be considered B as private patients they will still enjoy the PhilHealth package rates but not with the NB availment, it was learned.

According to Dr. Lumen, all the provincial, district and community hospitals no longer wholly depend on the local government infusion of funds for their operations due to the income generated thru PhilHealth reimbursements.

Thus the provincial government will also no longer be burdened with the heavy financial requirements in running hospitals wherein aside from the maintenance costs, the salaries and benefits of the hospital staff are also shouldered, he added.

The benefits of the medical and hospital workers will be absorbed by the economic enterprise system, hopefully, he added. (ajc/esg/PIA8 SoLeyte)