Still, our seniors suffer

IWRITE today with a heavy heart. My aunt, first cousin of my dad, who helped my parents raise me and my siblings at various stages of our growing-up years, is lying in state. She was 87, a retired public school teacher. Till the end, she was a teacher, teaching us life lessons that only the wisdom of her storied years could impart. She was beautiful inside and out, even as she suffered from a host of geriatric diseases.

Thank God, I was home in the Philippines on that fateful morning when she was rushed to the emergency room for chest pains. Even so, she was gone when I reached the hospital, a well known private institution in Quezon City. She expired while undergoing an angiogram which, the doctors said, had to be done as she had suffered a heart attack. I had to take charge of all the arrangements, as both her daughters live abroad. It was a long and exhausting day, most of which was spent waiting for the bill. It had to be settled for her body and death certificate to be released.

With her death, I discovered a painful truth: she was practically at the mercy of the hospital, vulnerable specially in death. It is with a heavy heart that I say this but I must, in the interest of the public and as a matter of civic duty.

Her hospital bill amounted to a smashing 1400,000 plus. A cool 1381,000 of that was the angio “package” inclusive of professional fees of 1224,000. Only 15,500 was deducted for Philhealth and 18,000+ for Senior Citizen discount. There was no discount for the angio “package” because, according to the hospital, “Package na yan, may discount na.”

Of course I protested. The “package” price was for seniors and nonseniors alike, so where is the senior’s 20% discount mandated by law? I reminded them of the case brought to public attention by Atty. Romulo Macalintal, where the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had said that for a “promo” to be ineligible for the discount, a permit therefor must be issued by the DTI and published for general circulation. The hospital insisted on its position.

I immediately contacted Undersecretary Ruth Castelo of the DTI who heads its Consumer Protection Group for guidance. She promptly responded by e-mail, reiterating the “Macalintal doctrine” and noting that the “package” was “not for the promotion” of the hospital but for professional fees and charges. I showed it to the hospital and lo and behold, it applied the senior discount!

A shout out for the DTI! Government works, dear readers, in the person specially of USEC Castelo and the DTI Consumer Group. They can be easily reached at 1-384 toll free nationwide, or by e-mail at ConsumerCare@dti.gov.ph for any consumer complaints or concerns and, like in my case, they take immediate action. And thanks very much to Atty. Mac for blazing the trail.

I shudder to think of the many seniors and their families who may have fallen into the same trap, and I hope that our experience will be helpful henceforth. Perhaps, the DTI can issue and publicize definitive guidance shortly, and strictly enforce it. You see, even in death, my aunt was teaching lessons! May she now rest in peace.