6069 Senate Bill

House Bill 6069

ALAB ng Mamamahayag (ALAM) has intensified its campaign against privatization of public hospitals.

ALAM Chairman Jerry Yap said privatization of 26 government institutions won’t solve problems in health services.

House Bill 6069 or “An Act Creating National Government Hospital Corporations,” authored by Bacolod City Rep. Anthony Golez is pushing for the complete privatization of public hospitals in the country.

Senate Bill 3130 or the National Government Hospital Corporate Restructuring Act, a counterpart measure of House Bill 6069, is authored by Sen. Franklin Drilon.

Yap said these bills, supposedly a part of the government’s Public-Private Partnership scheme, are anti-poor as it gives highly expensive costs of the cure.

He believes that these bills are being rushed as trimmings for President Benigno S. Aquino III’s forthcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“Malayo sa katotohanang masasagot ng PhilHealth ang lahat ng gastusin ng mahihirap sa ospital dahil napakalaki ng utang nito sa iba’t ibang ospital,” Yap said.

Yap said PhilHealth President Dr. Ed Banzon was just following his boss’s orders when his office promised to provide indigent patients free hospitalization, medicines and laboratory services under its “No Balance, No Billing” policy.

“Malabong maipatupad ang “no balance billing” project at universal health care system ng PhilHealth, dahil karamihan sa ma public hospitals ay kulang sa pasilidad,” he said.

“Mas lalo lamang hindi papansinin ng mga duktor ang mga maysakit na sasailalim sa programa PhilHealth kung ipipilit ito.”

Yap, former National Press Club (PC) president-turned-treasurer, said it is just a promise that could not be kept.

Meanwhile, ALAM President Berteni Causing said not all Filipinos are covered by PhilHealth, adding that privatization of these hospitals will make health services beyond the reach of the poor people.

“Palpak din ang planong pagtatanggal ng charity wards sa government hospitals dahil hindi lahat ng maysakit ay maa-accomodate ng PhilHealth,” Causing said.

“Kung talagang nais ng gobyernong matulungan ang mga mahihirap na maiayos ang kanilang kalusugan, pondohan nila ng malaki ang Department of Health (DOH) at tanggalin na lamang ang conditional cash.”

Because of this, Causing urged the government not to let people end up making them reliant on others instead of themselves.

“Mas magandang sundin ng gobyerno ang payo ni Confucius na ‘teach the man how to fish and he will live for the rest of his life’ kesa pagmukhaing pulubi at patay-gutom ang mga beneficiaries ng conditional cash,” he pointed out

Reaction:

I, Kristoffer Diwa, strongly oppose to the privatization of these public hospitals or House Bill No. 6069. I believe that Hospital Privatization or Corporatization is a "pro-poor" bill because the marginalized people will suffer the most. I can see no reason why these hospitals should be privatized or to be sold to other corporations. It seems that they are making the situations worse. In case that President Benigno Aquino III approved this bill there will be an increase in terms of the medical expenses, hospital bills and medicines. As a result, the marginalized people will make these medical expenses be harder to reach/comply with.

On the brighter side, once these hospitals are transferred to the private sectors. There will an improvement in terms of the facilities, technologies and furniture. Because they will make hospitals profitable and beneficial. But again this bill will not make our economy increase and will not attain something good.