Hospital owners asked not to raise fees due to drug price cut law

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang yesterday called on the country’s private hospitals to reconsider their decision to raise fees as a response to the mandatory compliance with the Cheaper Medicine Law, saying this would be counter-productive.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that the hospitals should also consider the welfare of their patients before making these types of decisions.

“So, instead of thinking about how it will affect their benefits through the gains that they’re getting from their operations, they should also consider the welfare of the majority, the patients, most of whom are not well-to-do,” Ermita said.

The implementation of the Cheaper Medicine Law last month elicited negative responses from the hospital operators who wanted more time to recoup their losses.

According to private hospital operators, the implementation of the law forced them to sell their inventory of medicine covered by the law at prices way below their acquisition cost.

The government has informed the hospitals that they have to lower the prices of these drugs regardless of their concerns.

In response, the hospitals said that they have no choice but to raise their fees in order to cover for their losses.

Ermita said that the Department of Health (DOH) has been directed to talk to the hospital owners to dissuade them from taking such a drastic step.

Under the Cheaper Medicine Law, the price of 21 types of medicine would be brought down by at least 50 percent.

All of the establishments and facilities that sell these drugs were given a short period of time to come up with the necessary measures to cope with the implementation of the law and no extension of the deadline was given. –Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star)