Davao residents denounce ‘distorted’ reports on PhilHealth reimbursement
Photo Credit: Southern Philippines Medical Center -SPMC - Davao City Facebook Page (FILE PHOTO)
Davaoeños banded together on Wednesday to decry what they said are “distorted and biased” reports on the P326 million received by the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in compensation from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
The funds were given to SPMC under PhilHealth’s Internal Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The amount is the biggest given to a hospital in the country, bigger than the P263.3 million received by the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, the only national referral center for tertiary care.
A number of Davaoeños reacted to what they feel was the insinuation that SPMC received the amount because Davao City is the home of President Rodrigo Duterte, implying that favoritism and even corruption played a part.
SPMC has yet to release an official statement, but Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr., in a statement released Wednesday afternoon, said there is nothing irregular about the amount received by the hospital.
“SPMC, for the information of everyone, is a 1,500-bed hospital with almost 3,600 personnel. Per DOH [Department of Health], it is the biggest hospital facility in the country as a government hospital. Last year, the hospital’s total admissions were 76,586. There were also 586,278 outpatients in the same period,” Roque said.
He said SPMC also has the highest PhilHealth income, breaking the billion-peso mark. “Its average income for 2018-2019 is P1.2 billion and IRM is based on the monthly average or the track record of reimbursement for 2018-19.”
Historically, Roque added, SPMC has had the biggest amount of claims because it provides healthcare services to patients all over Mindanao.
Philippine Information Agency Director General Ramon Cualoping, who is from Davao City, pointed out that SPMC is “the biggest public tertiary hospital in the Philippines in terms of bed capacity.”
He also said SPMC does not only cater to Davao City residents but also to patients from all over Mindanao and even the Visayas.
“Naturally, logically, it gets a higher subsidy and budget allocation as an institution,” Cualoping said.
He cited Republic Act 11326 signed by Duterte in 2018 which increased the bed capacity of SPMC from 1,200 to 1,500. It also upgraded the professional healthcare services and facilities of the hospital.
PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Morales has been quoted in reports as saying SPMC actually has 1,800 beds, compared with PGH which has 1,500 beds.
Cualoping said while SPMC received the biggest amount from PhilHealth among hospitals in the country, Region 11 itself ranks fifth in terms of allocation per region.
“If we go by allocation per region, the top 5 are National Capital Region, 29.08% or P4.35 billion; Central Luzon, 13.07% or P1.96 billion; Calabarzon, 8.34% or P1.35 billion; Central Visayas, 7.36% or P1.13 billion; Davao Region, 5.95% or P891 million,” he said.
“There should be no political color when it comes to public health. This is about the lives of Filipinos,” he added.
RJ Lumawag, editor-in-chief of SunStar Davao, said SPMC also attends to patients coming from other regions as well, “going as far as Luzon and Visayas.”
“It is the designated COVID-19 referral hospital in Davao City. It is also where most COVID-19 patients from the region are being brought to,” he added.
Lumawag said because the biases of “imperialistic Manileños” are already “tainted with malice, they will not know that the hospital serves Mindanao as a whole, hence SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES MEDICAL CENTER.”
“They will not know that the SPMC is where many children with cancer go to get treated. They will not know how SPMC works hard to process those PhilHealth claims,” he added.
Lumawag also credited former SPMC chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega, who is now a Department of Health Undersecretary, for the development of the hospital even before Duterte became President.
Jefry Tupas, head of the Davao City Information Office, cried foul over a Facebook post that used the photo of Mayor Sara Duterte, alongside President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, in a report that SPMC received the largest amount from PhilHealth.
“How is Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte relevant in this story? Because clearly you are ignorant — Davao Region is not Davao City. How about you educate yourselves?” Tupas said in a Facebook post.
In a separate post, Tupas criticized Rappler CEO Maria Ressa for questioning on Twitter the amount received by SPMC. “Seriously? A Davao hospital receives more than PGH?” Ressa had tweeted.
“SPMC is not a Davao hospital. It is a Southern Philippines hospital located in Davao City,” Tupas said.
The funds were given to SPMC under PhilHealth’s Internal Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The amount is the biggest given to a hospital in the country, bigger than the P263.3 million received by the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, the only national referral center for tertiary care.
A number of Davaoeños reacted to what they feel was the insinuation that SPMC received the amount because Davao City is the home of President Rodrigo Duterte, implying that favoritism and even corruption played a part.
SPMC has yet to release an official statement, but Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr., in a statement released Wednesday afternoon, said there is nothing irregular about the amount received by the hospital.
“SPMC, for the information of everyone, is a 1,500-bed hospital with almost 3,600 personnel. Per DOH [Department of Health], it is the biggest hospital facility in the country as a government hospital. Last year, the hospital’s total admissions were 76,586. There were also 586,278 outpatients in the same period,” Roque said.
He said SPMC also has the highest PhilHealth income, breaking the billion-peso mark. “Its average income for 2018-2019 is P1.2 billion and IRM is based on the monthly average or the track record of reimbursement for 2018-19.”
Historically, Roque added, SPMC has had the biggest amount of claims because it provides healthcare services to patients all over Mindanao.
Philippine Information Agency Director General Ramon Cualoping, who is from Davao City, pointed out that SPMC is “the biggest public tertiary hospital in the Philippines in terms of bed capacity.”
He also said SPMC does not only cater to Davao City residents but also to patients from all over Mindanao and even the Visayas.
“Naturally, logically, it gets a higher subsidy and budget allocation as an institution,” Cualoping said.
He cited Republic Act 11326 signed by Duterte in 2018 which increased the bed capacity of SPMC from 1,200 to 1,500. It also upgraded the professional healthcare services and facilities of the hospital.
PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Morales has been quoted in reports as saying SPMC actually has 1,800 beds, compared with PGH which has 1,500 beds.
Cualoping said while SPMC received the biggest amount from PhilHealth among hospitals in the country, Region 11 itself ranks fifth in terms of allocation per region.
“If we go by allocation per region, the top 5 are National Capital Region, 29.08% or P4.35 billion; Central Luzon, 13.07% or P1.96 billion; Calabarzon, 8.34% or P1.35 billion; Central Visayas, 7.36% or P1.13 billion; Davao Region, 5.95% or P891 million,” he said.
“There should be no political color when it comes to public health. This is about the lives of Filipinos,” he added.
RJ Lumawag, editor-in-chief of SunStar Davao, said SPMC also attends to patients coming from other regions as well, “going as far as Luzon and Visayas.”
“It is the designated COVID-19 referral hospital in Davao City. It is also where most COVID-19 patients from the region are being brought to,” he added.
Lumawag said because the biases of “imperialistic Manileños” are already “tainted with malice, they will not know that the hospital serves Mindanao as a whole, hence SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES MEDICAL CENTER.”
“They will not know that the SPMC is where many children with cancer go to get treated. They will not know how SPMC works hard to process those PhilHealth claims,” he added.
Lumawag also credited former SPMC chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega, who is now a Department of Health Undersecretary, for the development of the hospital even before Duterte became President.
Jefry Tupas, head of the Davao City Information Office, cried foul over a Facebook post that used the photo of Mayor Sara Duterte, alongside President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, in a report that SPMC received the largest amount from PhilHealth.
“How is Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte relevant in this story? Because clearly you are ignorant — Davao Region is not Davao City. How about you educate yourselves?” Tupas said in a Facebook post.
In a separate post, Tupas criticized Rappler CEO Maria Ressa for questioning on Twitter the amount received by SPMC. “Seriously? A Davao hospital receives more than PGH?” Ressa had tweeted.
“SPMC is not a Davao hospital. It is a Southern Philippines hospital located in Davao City,” Tupas said.