Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro signed Executive Order 42, directing all 16 province-run health facilities to provide immediate emergency treatment without requiring advance payments or facing delays in Philhealth verification.
The directive aligns with Republic Act 10932 and Republic Act 11223, requiring provincial hospitals to stabilize patients first, maintain round-the-clock Philhealth verification services, and keep adequate stocks of medicines and medical supplies.
Hospital personnel who fail to comply with the order may face administrative and legal sanctions, and patients or relatives can file complaints with their hospitals or the Provincial Health Office.
INDIGENT patients and emergency victims in Cebu can now receive immediate treatment at provincial hospitals without advance payments or delays in Philhealth verification after Gov. Pamela Baricuatro ordered stricter enforcement of existing patient protection laws.
Baricuatro signed Executive Order 42 directing all 16 Province-run health facilities to implement measures ensuring patients receive prompt medical care regardless of their ability to pay. The order covers two Level 2 hospitals, four Level 1 hospitals and 10 infirmaries across the province.
The directive aligns with Republic Act (RA) 10932, which prohibits hospitals from demanding deposits or advance payments before providing emergency treatment or care to women in active labor. It also supports RA 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act, which seeks to ensure all Filipinos have equitable access to quality healthcare services.
Faster emergency care
While the national law already guarantees emergency treatment without upfront payment, the executive order sets procedures for provincial hospitals to prevent delays caused by unavailable Philhealth personnel, administrative bottlenecks and shortages of medicines or medical supplies.
Under the order, provincial hospitals cannot demand or accept advance deposits as a condition for providing emergency care, confinement or medical treatment. Medical personnel must first stabilize patients before any payment or billing process begins.
Round-the-clock verification
To speed up benefit processing, each hospital must maintain round-the-clock access to Philhealth verification services, including at night, on weekends and during holidays. Hospital chiefs have been directed to assign billing staff, claims processors, records personnel and backup employees on shifting or on-call schedules to ensure uninterrupted service.
The measure is intended to prevent patients from waiting until regular office hours before their Philhealth membership can be verified.
Eligible Philhealth members will continue to receive benefits under the agency’s No Balance Billing policy, subject to existing Philhealth rules. Under the policy, qualified members should not be charged for hospital expenses beyond what Philhealth covers.
Financial assistance
Patients who are uninsured or unable to pay must be referred to hospital medical social workers for financial assistance and help with Philhealth enrollment or other government health programs.
The executive order also requires hospitals to maintain adequate stocks of medicines and medical supplies. Personnel must exhaust available hospital resources before referring patients elsewhere and cannot direct patients to buy medicines or supplies outside the facility if these are available in the hospital.
Hospital chiefs are responsible for enforcing the directive in their respective facilities. Personnel who fail to comply may face administrative and legal sanctions under existing civil service rules.
Patients and their relatives may file complaints with their hospitals or the Provincial Health Office if they believe the directive has been violated. / CDF