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Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Conflict with GSIS prods hospital to end deal
DAVAO CITY -- Members of the state-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and their dependents are no longer entitled to "hefty discounts" at the Davao Doctors' Hospital allegedly due to a breach in the agreement between the two parties.
Dr. Herminio A. Villano Sr., hospital president and chief executive officer, said Monday he issued a directive discontinuing the rare privilege, accusing the GSIS of not living up to its part in the contract.
He said GSIS entered into a contract with the hospital where the insurance office will supply to the hospital equipment worth P55 million. In exchange, the hospital will provide "hefty discounts" to GSIS members and dependents.
Hospital and GSIS officials signed the agreement in March 2004.
Villano said, however, that while the hospital has been continuously giving the discounts since the signing of the agreement in 2004, GSIS has still to buy the equipment after over a year.
When GSIS informed the hospital in February 2005 of the brand that it will buy and deliver to the facility, officials said the machine did not have the specifications as spelled out in the contract, Villano added.
To thresh out the problem, a delegation from the hospital board of directors met with GSIS officials led by its president and general manager Winston Garcia in Manila on March 8, 2005.
In that meeting, Villano said GSIS agreed to supply them with a machine with the correct specifications.
However, on March 14, 2005, Garcia wrote the hospital asking its management to submit the following documents:
1. A letter of apology from Dr. Anatole Garcia, a radiologist, and the hospital addressed to the GSIS and Winston Garcia;
2. A guarantee from the hospital board of directors that all necessary precautions and security measures will be instituted to protect the CT Scan, a property of the GSIS;
3. Assignment of a new radiologist who will be in charge of the CT scan and permanent exclusion and/or barring of Dr. Anatole Garcia from having anything to do with the CT scan.
Villano in a statement issued Monday said the hospital denies having said or written anything that may be considered derogatory to any GSIS official or to GSIS.
"All the letters of DDH to any or all GSIS officials were reviewed and it sees nothing to merit the demands of Garcia," the statement said.
"Dr. Anatole Garcia may have some negative observations/reservations about the machine to be delivered made through a letter of appeal to the board of directors of DDH and which was forwarded to GSIS but certainly, he had stated nothing to warrant the three demands," it added.
Villano said the hospital's board of directors in a meeting on April 2, 2005 decided it cannot comply with requirements 1 and 3 asked for by GSIS. Hospital officials said the hospital has not done anything wrong that can be considered derogatory to GSIS or any of its officials.
The board contends that the imposition of such requirements by GSIS is "unfair and uncalled for."
Consequently, it decided to cancel discounts being given by the hospital to GSIS members and their dependents.
Villano said the hospital has given discounts to a total of 576 sick GSIS members since November 2004.
He said the total discounts extended by the hospital in line with the accord amounted to P1,769,318.75 or an average discount of P3,071.73 given to each GSIS patient.
He said the highest single patient discount given was P60,004.50.
He said the DDH has submitted an appeal of its case to the GSIS board of trustees. Unfortunately, the GSIS board failed to take the case up because the board meeting had adjourned when the hospital appeal arrived. (Sun.Star Davao)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (April 12, 2005 issue)
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