A PRIVATE hospital which is run and managed by private physicians in Bacolod City will close down this end of June after the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)-Western Visayas suspended their accreditation since March 2018.
A SunStar Bacolod source from the Administrative Department of the Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital (BOLMSH) revealed that the hospital has already started to discharge their patients on Monday, June 18, after they received the letter from PhilHealth-Western Visayas.
In a letter to Dr. Reynold Wong, BOLMSH medical director on June 7, 2018, Lourdes Diocson of PhilHealth-Western Visayas stated that the hospital's application for continuous accreditation as a Level 2 provider has been denied by the Accreditation Sub-Committee due to conviction and due to fraudulent acts as recommended in a Rule II Section 63.c of the revised IRR 10606 of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013.
A denied healthcare provider who will not be in agreement with the action on the application may file a motion for reconsideration of the decision within 30 days from receipt of the decision or may re-file another application for accreditation at the Accreditation Section of PhilHealth-Western Visayas. Regardless of your chosen option, the accreditation shall take effect on the date of full compliance, the letter stated.
The Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau of the Department of Health has given Tiong Bi Inc. that owns BOLMSH until December 31, 2018, the License to Operate as Level 2 Hospital with a bed capacity of 200.
Other services offered by the hospital are Clinical Laboratory, Anatomical Pathology, Blood Station, HIV Testing Laboratory, Pharmacy, Dialysis Clinic with 22 stations, Diagnostic X-ray Services, Specialized Diagnostic X-ray Services.
Since Monday, the hospital has been refusing patients who want to be admitted and use their PhilHealth because it would be unfair to them that they could no longer use their PhilHealth because they denied our accreditation, at the same time their respective doctors could not be paid by PhilHealth, the source said.
The hospital also cannot claim from PhilHealth. So to avoid further losses, because since March until May, the hospital has not been paid by PhilHealth amounting to P25 million, the SunStar source said.
The source further revealed that the hospital has started to discharge patients. “But we will shoulder the PhilHealth claims of the patients because we could no longer bill it to PhilHealth, that's why the hospital is forced to close.”
The hospital will close as soon it fully discharges all the patients, maybe end of this month. The hospital cannot sustain without PhilHealth, the source said.
The remaining patients, as of this time, are only about 40 since the hospital discharge on Tuesday, June 19, about 25 patients.
Their respective doctors advised them to transfer to other hospitals where they can claim their PhilHealth, the source said.
The hospital board has been discussing for evaluation if the X-ray, ultrasound, CitiScan will remain.
“But anything covered with PhilHealth could no longer be sustained because we still have the collectibles amounting to P25 million. The hospital was not informed ahead that since March the hospital is no longer accredited with PhilHealth,” the source said.
(Appeal)
The SunStar source said 213 dialysis patients will be displaced with the closure of the hospital.
"I do not know if they will be accommodated by other dialysis centers but they may find difficulty if they will be accommodated in shifts. They will also have problems on the guarantee of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office addressed to the Bacolod Lady of Mercy so they need to be issued by another hospital of the guarantee,” the source said.
The patients have already filed a manifesto, seeking for the intervention of President Rodrigo Duterte and PhilHealth to reconsider their decision.
“They are doing it voluntarily," the source said.
(Workers terminated)
The SunStar source further said that 401 employees and their respective families who are dependent on their employment to the hospital will be affected.
The hospital lawyers Rafael Ocampo (corporate) and Marvin Tanada (labor), are now preparing the 30 days notice of termination.
“All hospital employees, including me, will be paid with termination pay. But the payment would be 18 years above. Ten years will be paid by the former owner, Dr. Evangeline Johnson, while the five years remaining who are under contract with the Negros Healthcare Systems Inc. headed by Dr. Nestor Amante,” the source said.
The Negros Healthcare Systems Inc. has been in lease contract with Tiong Bi Inc. for five years since 2014. The contract is supposed to end on December 2018.
(Suspension)
The suspension of the PhilHealth accreditation is relative to the alleged padding of PhilHealth claims on cataract operation in 2007 when the hospital was being run and managed by Tiong Bi under Johnson.
The source said that the closure of the hospital will have a big effect in the city and in the province that has been having a hospital shortage.
"The problem of the community now is that where are they going to bring their patients especially this rainy season when dengue patients are expected to increase. It depends on PhilHealth but we just follow their order. We cannot continue to operate without PhilHealth because we have no cash flow to sustain," the source said.