Bill seeks to strengthen law against ‘hospital detention’

SENATE President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada has filed a measure seeking to impose stiffer penalties on hospitals which take “hostage” patients for financial reasons.

Estrada said Senate Bill No. 2724 seeks to introduce amendments to RA 9439 (An Act Prohibiting the Detention of Patients in Hospitals and Medical Clinics on Grounds of Nonpayment of Hospital Bills or Medical Expenses).

He said he has received numerous complaints about hospitals continuing to “detain” patients – dead or alive – due to unpaid medical bills.

“Despite the existence of the law for 17 years now, the same illegal practice persists and continues to plague our healthcare system. My office has received numerous complaints from hapless families victimized by unscrupulous medical institutions,” Estrada said.

He said the practice deprives a person of basic constitutional rights.

SB 2724 proposes a fine of P200,000 (from the current P20,000 to P50,000), imprisonment of up to three years, or both, for hospital officers or employees who fail to comply with the law.

Estrada said directors or managers of medical facilities could face a six-year jail term and a maximum fine of P2 million “for implementing policies of hospital detention.”

He also inserted a provision on the illegality of withholding documents pertinent to the examination, diagnosis, medication, care, and hospitalization of the patient.

Death certificates and other documents required for burial and other purposes must be issued within 48 hours, he said.

If the patient is an active member of either the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), or the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), a guarantee letter from any of these agencies may be presented along with a promissory note as an alternative to a mortgage or guarantee by a co-maker.

He added that if the patient is indigent, a guarantee letter from the Department of Social Welfare and Development may be submitted.

Estrada proposed amending the policy to include patients admitted to private rooms due to unavailability of non-private rooms, urgency of the case, or if deemed necessary by hospital medical professionals for intensive care,