Following a meeting between the Bacolod City government and officials from the Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) last week, a pending resolution was drafted to allow the facility to remain open until July 30 instead of closing as originally planned.
Without much information disclosed regarding details of the agreement, Dr. Nestor Amante, president of the Negros Healthcare Management Systems, Inc. (NHMSI), which currently manages the hospital, called it a “win-win solution.”
“Everybody was happy after the meeting,” he affirmed.
Meanwhile, PhilHealth Regional Vice President Lourdes Diocson, according to a release from the city government, affirmed the closure decision was made primarily by the hospital.
She also confirmed accreditation was denied due to fraudulent activities committed by Tiong Bi, Inc., the hospital’s previous management.
Earlier, in a letter from Gregorio Gustilo, Jr. of the Negrense Dialysis Group to President Rodrigo Duterte, he urged intervention from the national government, saying, the hospitals closure would cause suffering in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
In addition, the local chapter of workers’ rights group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) claimed closure would lead to “unexpected starvation.”
Last year, a congressional hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability revealed some hospital physicians allegedly collected excessive amounts in PhilHealth claims for unnecessary procedures, with the Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Bacolod City named as one of the involved hospitals.
According to a PTV report, doctors at the said hospital allegedly recommended patients undergo cataract surgery even if it was not necessary./WDJ
