Senator Erwin Tulfo is pushing for a standardized, itemized hospital billing system to help patients better understand medical costs.
Under Senate Bill No. 1987, hospitals would be required to provide a full breakdown of charges, including facility fees, medicines, laboratory and diagnostic services, and doctors’ professional fees.
The Department of Health, in coordination with PhilHealth, would set a uniform billing format to ensure transparency.
“There must be a higher standard when it comes to medical institutions… accountability in billing should never be compromised,” said Tulfo.
Unclear billing, he added, weakens patient protection and said the measure, filed in March, is now pending at the Senate committee level.IMT
