SEN. Mark Villar has thrown his support behind the Senate’s approval of Senate Bill 1511, or the proposed Enhanced Anti-Hospital Detention Act, which imposes stiffer penalties on hospitals and medical clinics that unlawfully detain patients and their families over unpaid medical bills.
The measure was approved on third and final reading with 18 senators voting in favor, none against, and one abstention. It aims to strengthen Republic Act 9439, which prohibits hospitals and clinics from detaining patients who are unable to immediately settle their medical expenses. Villar said families already burdened by illness and mounting medical costs should not be subjected to further humiliation or treated as prisoners because they cannot immediately pay their bills. He said medical facilities should never use detention as a means of collecting debts, stressing that the proposed law would impose harsher sanctions on facilities that illegally withhold patients, newborns or even the remains of deceased patients. The bill broadens the protection under the existing law to cover not only patients but also their relatives, representatives and caregivers. It specifically prohibits hospitals from withholding newborn babies in maternity cases and the remains of deceased patients whose families have outstanding financial obligations. The measure also seeks to outlaw the so-called palit-ulo practice, wherein a relative, caregiver or another individual is required to stay in the hospital as a condition for the patient’s release. Villar said the practice was degrading and inhumane, particularly when imposed on poor families already struggling with illness, bereavement and rising health care costs. Under the proposed law, hospital officers or employees found responsible for illegal detention may face a fine of up to P300,000 or imprisonment of up to two years and four months. Hospital directors or officers who establish or enforce a policy allowing illegal detention may be fined between P500,000 and P1 million, and face imprisonment of four to six years. Three violations committed under such a policy may also lead to the revocation of the hospital’s license to operate. Villar clarified that the measure does not condone the nonpayment of legitimate hospital bills or prevent medical facilities from collecting unpaid accounts. Instead, it requires hospitals to pursue lawful and humane means of collection. Patients who are financially incapable of paying may be allowed to issue promissory notes backed by legally recognized security or guarantee arrangements. Qualified patients may also seek guarantee letters from appropriate government agencies. Villar said that while hospitals have a legitimate need to remain financially viable and recover unpaid charges, collection efforts must not infringe on a person’s liberty, dignity or right to humane treatment.
