The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) led by Vice Gov. Rene Lopez Relampagos has taken the initiative of studying the current situation in relation to the high cost of bills in private hospitals and the limited supply of medicines to treat Coronavirus disease (Covid) treatment.
This comes following the manifestation of Board Member Elpidio Bonita, chairperson of the Committee on Health and Sanitation during their Sept. 21, 2021 regular session, which matter was referred by Vice Gov. Relampagos to the joint Committees on Health and Public Sanitation and Trade & Industry to conduct the inquiry.
According to Bonita, the medicines for Covid like remdesivir was priced before at P20,000 per vial but now it is priced at P150,000 per vial.
Bonita further added that bills in the private hospitals have significantly increased as well the cost for other medical procedures such as childbirth.
In the committee report submitted by the joint committees on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, it was reported that the reason for the surge in prices of the said drugs is due to the short supply.
According to Dr. Luciano Sarabosing of the Philippine Hospitals Association (PHA) – Bohol chapter, the management of Covid for admitted patients is focused on the prevention of complications called a cytokine storm.
This complication can be averted by the use of tocilizumab and barticinib.
The problem lies in the fact that the supply of these said drugs is scarce. The supply has been short since June 2021.
Moreover, Sarabosing said another medicine that may help cut the length of hospitalization time is called favipiravir. It is an anti-viral drug, which can be used against Covid complications.
Furthermore, Sarabosing said that remdesivir and favipiravir are currently available at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH).
Dr. Rica Reina Aumentado of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-Cebu, who was present during the committee meeting via teleconferencing said there is a shortage of supply of tocilizumab as Cebu is also suffering from the high prices of the said drug.
Accordingly, the FDA is following the Department of Health (DOH) Circular No .2021-0291, setting the Suggested Retail Price (SRP) for selected essential emergency medicines and medical devices.
Sarabosing added that the GCGMH is the only facility that can purchase the said drugs, which are classified as compassionate drugs. Private hospitals are allowed to purchase drugs that are classified as for compassionate use, via a special license. A drug released under the compassionate use can be bought only with the written consent of the doctor and patient.
Meanwhile, according to the report in the case of the high cost of bills in private hospital, DOH has no control over the price cap of the cost of private hospital services except for price of the antigen and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
In the light of these findings, Relampagos has referred these matters to the Provincial Health Board and Provincial Legal Office in order to give a serious look on how the Provincial Government of Bohol can possibly address the concern and whether or not there is a need to enact a law or to lobby Congress to address the concern.