THE Valenzuela City government has passed an ordinance that would hold the entire hospital management team liable for detaining patients or their representatives, or withholding personal medical documents on grounds of non-payment of hospital bills.
Mayor Weslie Gatchalian told The Manila Times on Sunday that he approved Ordinance No. 1178 that “prohibits the detention of individuals and cadavers in hospitals, medical clinics or any other similar facilities and failure or refusal to issue birth certificates or death certificates on grounds of non-payment of hospital bills or medical expenses; and imposing penalties for violations thereof.”
He said that councilor Walter Magnum dela Cruz was the principal author of the measure, which was co-authored by the entire city council members. He added that the ordinance resulted from complaints in court against ACE Medical Center in Barangay Malanday.
At least four complainants had accused the hospital of illegal detention and coercion, among others, because of the failure of the patients to pay their medical bills.
However, the mayor said that the management had offered an out-of-court settlement, giving the four complainants P1 million each.
Thus, in a bid to ensure full protection on the rights of patients and their representatives, the city government has passed Ordinance No. 1178 that holds the entire hospital management — including the president and medical director and other officials — administratively and criminally liable for violations stated therein.
Likewise, a health worker, physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, allied personnel performing administrative, clerical, security, admission and billing functions in a health care institution will be held accountable.
Citing existing national and related laws, Gatchalian said that under the new ordinance “it would now be unlawful for any health care institution (private or public) or health care worker to detain or otherwise cause, directly or indirectly, the detention of a patient or a patient representative as defined under [the ordinance’s] provisions.”
“It would also be unlawful for them to refuse to issue or withhold the issuance of a birth certificate or death certificate to a patient or patient representative on the sole ground of non-payment of health care fees provided the latter executes or submits a notarized promissory note in favor of the former,” he added.
For administrative penalties, the concerned hospital corporate officers and health workers would be made to pay a fine of P200,000 or suspension of business permits for 30 days for the first offense.
For the second, third and subsequent offenses, the penalty would be P300,000 and P400,000, respectively.
In addition to the administrative penalties, the offender, found to be criminally liable, shall be meted with a penalty of a fine not more than five P5,000 or imprisonment of not more than one year or both upon the discretion of the court, according to the anti-hospital detention ordinance.
Under the same measure, an anti-hospital detention assistance fund would be created and funded from “any and all amounts collected pursuant to its provisions on penalties.”
“The city mayor shall administer the special account which may be utilized to cover unpaid promissory notes issued by indigent patients as may be determined as qualified for financial assistance by the city social welfare and development office,” the same ordinance said.
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