In a move to reassure the public, Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia has pledged that patients at the Cebu City Medical Center and Guba Community Hospital will continue to benefit from zero balance billing, despite a recent hike in hospital fees. This assurance comes in the wake of a decision by the Cebu City Council to increase charges for various medical and laboratory services, a move that has sparked concern among residents.
Mayor Garcia emphasized that the increased fees would be offset by higher reimbursements from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), ensuring that patients would not have to pay out-of-pocket expenses upon discharge. This policy is supported by the Malasakit program, which aims to provide financial assistance to indigent patients.
The fee adjustments include significant increases in costs for routine tests and procedures. For instance, the price of a routine urinalysis has risen from PHP30 to PHP263, while a pregnancy test now costs PHP385, up from PHP100. More complex procedures like CT scans have seen their fees soar from PHP5,769 to PHP23,748.45, and MRI procedures now range from PHP8,249.38 to PHP186,280.
Dialysis treatments have also become more expensive, with AV fistula dialysis now costing PHP7,447.02 and CVC dialysis at PHP8,347.32. Maternity and newborn services have not been spared, with emergency room deliveries now priced at PHP5,000, forceps-assisted deliveries at PHP8,000, and a newborn care package at PHP1,800.
Daily charges for hospital stays have also been revised, with ward stays now costing PHP600, intensive care unit stays at PHP2,500, and neonatal or pediatric ICU stays at PHP1,200.
Mayor Garcia noted that the last adjustment to these rates occurred 14 years ago, suggesting that the current changes were necessary to reflect the rising costs of healthcare services. Despite these increases, the mayor’s commitment to zero balance billing aims to alleviate the financial burden on patients, ensuring that they can access necessary medical care without worrying about the costs.