Unpaid medical bills: Mayor blames bureaucracy

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia the other day blamed bureaucracy as to why unsettled medical bills under the City Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program (CHAMP) piled up.

He said, though, that upon checking with CHAMP Office Head Jojo Lingaolingao, no hospital has turned down patients bringing CHAMP Letters of Authority (LOA).

Garcia said that with CHAMP having one of the largest annual budget allocations, the unsettled medical bills may be due to bureaucracy.

“Imagine each patient, and there are thousands of patients, they have to submit here the certification from the barangay that they are indigent or they are a resident. Number 2, a medical abstract. And so many other requirements,” he said.

CHAMP’s requirements for hospital bill payments are the following: final bill with signature of the billing clerk; medical abstract with the signature, license, and Professional Tax Receipt (PTR) number of the doctor; indigency certification from the barangay; and patient’s voter’s registration certification.

For laboratory, the requirements are the charge slip or quotation with the signature of the billing clerk; medical certification with doctor’s signature, license, and PTR number; and patient’s voter’s registration certification.

The mayor said that these requirements must be complied with before the city government can reimburse the hospital. In the absence of the said documents, the city cannot process the payments.

Garcia said that regardless of CHAMP's budget allocation, payment for the hospital or laboratory bill will not be released if the documents are not submitted

The mayor said that unpaid medical bills could be the factor in why hospitals take a second look at CHAMP’s LOA.

“Kay muingon man na sila og sige mig dawat aning inyong LOA unya wa moy bayad-bayad dako na kaayo mo’g utang,” he said.

The City Council, however, already approved during its session last week the allocation of P2.4 million for the unpaid medical bills of CHAMP beneficiaries in various hospitals.

Garcia said that these hospitals appeared to be more understanding after he sat and spoke with their officials, especially after he told them that acquiring an LOA from CHAMP involves adhering to various requirements set by the Commission on Audit.

He revealed, though, that Cebu Doctors' University Hospital, which had stopped accepting CHAMP’s LOAs, is accepting it now since September after the “interventions.”

“How budgeting here works is that if you don’t pay it in the same year, the budget is cancelled and goes back to the General Fund. So, what happened here is we have to charge it to a 2024 account. The name of the account is 'Prior Years’, so we’ll charge it there,” Garcia said.

He, however, pointed out that during the years when the medical bills piled up and were left unpaid, he was still serving as a city councilor.

“So di pa nako ni mga accounts. Igo nalang ko nagbayad ani kay para malimpyo na tanan,” he said.

The medical bills covered by the P2.4-million allocation during the City Council session Wednesday last week were for 2020 to 2023.

The mayor said that even if there is an approved budget to pay for unsettled medical bills, it does not guarantee that Cebu City will no longer have them.

He said that only unpaid medical bills with complete documentation have been accounted for. This means that there are still those that lack the necessary documents and are therefore not included yet as bills to be paid.

“Naay kuwang ilang requirements, or you know unsa pa na ilang requirements nga wa pa nila ma-submit. So unsaon nila pag-bill namo og dili kompleto?” he said.

Garcia assured that he already directed CHAMP to fast-track the payments.

Asked if there are any alternatives to expedite the processing, he said there is no other way but to comply fast.

“Kay kung i-disallow ta sa COA, kitay makatapal. We just have to follow the COA rules and regulations,” he said.

The City Council discussed the city government’s unpaid medical bills during its session Wednesday last week, with legislators alleging that there were CHAMP-endorsed patients whom hospitals turned away because of the unpaid medical bills.

To address this, the council approved the allocation of P2.4 million contained in a resolution authored by City Councilor Noel Wenceslao.

In particular, the unsettled medical bills were owed to various hospitals, particularly P1,730,651 for Chong Hua Hospital; P352,476 for Adventist Hospital; P60,000 for Perpetual Succor; P92,647 for Cebu Velez; P372,069 for Sacred Heart Hospital; P135,000 for Cebu City Medical Center; P3,912 for Guba Community Hospital; P5,803 for Asian Renal Care; P18,430 for Saint Vincent General Hospital; P309,142 for Cebu Doctors' University Hospital; P2,000 for Nephrology Center of Cebu City Dialysis; and P15,950 for PVC Dialysis Company.

The amount will be charged to the Office of the City Administrator’s prior years Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses covered under the City’s Supplemental Budget 2. — (FREEMAN)