Hospital bill ni ex-sen. Alvarez hindi P8M

SUMULAT ang anak ni dating Sen. Heherson Alvarez sa media upang itama ang pahayag ng kanyang kapatid na umabot ng P8 milyon ang hospital bill ng kanilang ama.

Sa ulat ni Xilca Alvarez-Protacio sinabi nito na napanayam ang kanyang kapatid na si Hexilon at sinabi na nagbayad ang kanilang pamilya ng P8 milyon para pagak-ospital ng kanilang mga magulang at umaasa ito na makakapag-reimburse sila sa Philippine Health Insurance Corp., (PhilHealth).

“Unfortunately, both statements are factually incorrect,” saad ng sulat.

Ang hospital bill ng kanilang ina ay tinatayang P2 milyon umano at wala umano silang binayaran dahil sinagot ito ng PhilHealth ng lumabas ito sa Manila Doctors Hospital noong Abril 15.

Hindi umano niya alam kung magkano ang inabot ng gastos ng kanyang pumanaw na ama pero tinatayang ito ay nasa P5 milyon hindi pa nababawas ang Senior Citizen discount.

Hindi rin umano sila pinilit ng ospital na magbayad dahil ang naging prayoridad ng ospital ay ang mailabas kaagad ang labi ng kanilang ama upang mai-cremate.

“In fact, Manila Doctors did not even volunteer the amount of his bill, and they gave me an estimate only because I had prodded them to. Moreover, Manila Doctors was kind enough to reassure me that the bills were not a priority, that they would discuss these with PhilHealth, and that they would release his remains immediately. This, too, was a tremendous relief, as it allowed me to focus my efforts on arranging for my father’s cremation.”

Sinabi ni Protacio na siya ang direktang nakikipag-ugnayan sa Manila Doctors at wala umano silang P8 milyon para mabayaran ang ospital kung ito man ang gastos.

“ I wish to assure you that everything I said above is 100% true, as I was the only one who was directly dealing with everyone from Manila Doctors (whether the administration, my parents’ attending physicians, resident doctors and nurses). I can even assure you that we would not have been able to pay PHP 8 million, even if we had wanted to, so there is nothing for Philhealth to “reimburse” my family.”

Maaari umano na nagkamali ng pagkakaintindi ang kanyang kapatid.

“I am very embarrassed to say that my brother appears to have misunderstood the facts and made some assumptions based on outdated information. In particular, after our parents had been hospitalized for about a week and were both intubated, I was informed that their running bill was approximately PHP 2 million. At that time, there were yet no clear guidelines or pronouncement from Philhealth as to the extent of coverage to be granted to COVID-19 patients, so we had to brace ourselves for the prospect of a gigantic hospital bill at the end. I then told this to my brother weeks ago, and it now appears that he extrapolated the figure of PHP 8 million from what I told him weeks ago, and assumed that we must have somehow paid that amount. I hope you can forgive him for his honest error, and plead for your understanding as he (like the rest of my family) is very distraught over our dad’s demise.”

Humingi ng paumanhin si Protacio sa anumang abala na naidulot sa maling impormasyon na ibinahagi ng kanyang kapatid.

“I also humbly request that my brother’s interview, as well as all other articles that are based thereon, be taken down. I am so mortified by all this, and am deeply concerned that this false information might cause embarrassment or other problems for Manila Doctors (which has been nothing else but professional and kind to my family) or Philhealth, both of whom I am so grateful for and to, or cause complications with the settlement of parents’ hospitalization expenses.”

“I am also concerned for others who are where we were weeks ago — not only distressed because our loved ones were on the brink of death, but also crippled by anxiety over how to pay for the hospitalization expenses. Hearing the news about my parents’ bills, or that we are hoping to be “reimbursed” by Philhealth (which implies that we had to pay them), can only make the suffering of these other families worse. We even find ourselves receiving offers of donations from well-meaning individuals, which donations are far, far better directed to others who need them more. And to be completely honest, I would much rather that my dad’s life be celebrated for the advocacies he championed and that he be remembered for the good things he did in his lifetime, rather than for this distraction that my brother’s error had inadvertently caused.”