Hospital expenses
MY CHRONICALLY-ILL SON Regie has been a regular patient of hospitals-from the district hospital to the privately-owned St. Raphael Foundation Medical Center in Barangay Dau.
His latest confinement was at St. Raphael Foundation Medical Center where he stayed for 12 days and was billed P129,000 plus for deep neck abcess and not his usual illness of hypertension and vomiting.
The professional fee was P29,500 and the hospital required the family to pay in cash while some P12,000 was pitched in by Philhealth. In order to skirt the issue of no downpayment, the medical center required us to give a partial payment, which we did, at P10,000.
It is helpful that Mayor Garbo’s medical assistance amounted to P50,000, a big help indeed, as was considered the maximum limit of assistance in this case.
Cris, of the hospital’s admin office, suggested that the balance be sourced from PCSO pending submission of requirements.
And that’s how Regie was discharged last Saturday, August 25, 2018.
Regie’s case can be replicated several times involving different patients. Confinement, indeed, costs a lot of money and a big dent to the family’s resources, not to mention the number of absences from school caused by the prolonged confinement. Sus! There is even a joke about the hospital expenses: you may survive the illness but not the exorbitant bill.
*****
Over at SM Telabastagan, the mall manager Bong Garcia shared that the mall conducted a bloodletting activity for JBL Memorial Hospital to accommodate patients needing the precious commodity.
Some 100 individuals-mall employees, security guards and other charitable persons-gladly shared part of their blood for a good cause. Nice job, Bong. Hello to Bernadette Bautista, asst. mall manager and staff members.
At SM City Clark, new officers accommodated me and my two kids: Bernard Pame and Pauleen “Pau” Aquino. Bernard is a selfmade individual starting as janitor and rising through the ranks to become secretary with the help of course of SM officials who encouraged him to study further and obtain a diploma. Pauleen is an HRM grad.
*****
The city government of Mabalacat and perhaps in tandem with the Department of Public Works and Highways Region III office should make immediate repairs of the potholes visible on the Manila North road (MacArthur Highway). These may cause serious accidents to motorists and commuters. Mayor Crisostomo C. Garbo will please look into this and order his men to do repairs pronto on the gutted main thoroughfare. Also, garbage has piled up especially in Dau, thereby negating his clean and green program.