AS FUEL prices and supply costs continue to climb, two major hospitals in Cebu have chosen to hold the line on healthcare expenses, offering relief not just to a select group, but to every patient who walks through their doors.
Dr. Nina Darcera, medical director of St. Vincent General Hospital and assistant medical director at UCMed, confirmed that both institutions owned by prominent Cebuano businessman Augusto Go have implemented a price freeze on hospital services, laboratory tests and even medicines.
“The freeze of increase is for everybody. It’s not specific for employees and students,” Darcera said, adding that the policy applies equally to all patients.
Constant standard rates
To illustrate, she pointed out that even if operational costs continue to rise, patients will not see changes in standard rates.
“For example, the CBC now is P300. Even if there’s an increase, it’s still P300 for everybody,” she said.
The decision comes at a time when hospitals are grappling with increasing expenses driven largely by external factors.
According to Darcera, many of their supplies are sourced from Manila and even overseas, making them vulnerable to fluctuations in fuel prices and global costs.
“We get the supplies from Manila, we get the supplies from another country. So if they increase the fuel, everything also increases. The way that they price us will increase,” Darcera explained.
However, despite these pressures, Go’s hospitals have chosen not to pass the burden on to patients.
“What we have now is a bill that will not increase by how many percent just because there’s a fuel increase,” she said.
“Accessibility over profit”
Behind the move is a business model that prioritizes accessibility over high profit margins.
Darcera described it as a “volume-based” approach, accepting smaller profits per patient in exchange for serving more people.
“Even if the profit is small, as long as there are many. There might be lesser profit, but profit is still profit,” she said.
More than a financial strategy, the policy reflects the guiding principle of the hospital’s owner.
“You’ve heard about Attorney Augusto W. Go whose main mantra is really helping out people. That’s his legacy,” Darcera said.
Go also announced on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, that the University of Cebu, which he owns, will freeze tuition for the 2026–2027 academic year to keep education accessible for struggling families.
At a time when many Filipinos are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living, the decision to freeze hospital prices offers a rare sense of stability — one that, Darcera said, is meant for everyone. / ABC