SCHEME OR SCAM?
Cataract doc speaks up on PhilHealth controversy
Dr. Miguel Sarabia, scion of one of Iloilo's illustrious families and top eye doctor in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental speaks up on the controversial cataract cases charged to the government's Philippine Health Insurance Company (PHIC).
With questions posed on "Who will help the poor get quality eye surgery" and "Where if not PhilHealth will the poor go?," Dr. Sarabia defended his "system" of getting patients. This, as he "dis-owned" the corresponding procedure cum concept employed by colleagues in Bacolod City that has now caused PhilHealth to take a serious look into cataract claims in Western Visayas.
A US-trained Ophthalmologist with a Diplomate and over 20 years in experience, Sarabia in an interview Saturday with The News Today (TNT) expressed concern on the 'aftershocks' the controversy may generate. Foremost of said concern, he began, is on policies that may be adapted by the government and the PHIC that will make it harder for indigent cataract cases to be operated.
The PhilHealth in the past three years alone has paid up nearly P400 million in cataract claims for Region 6, Sarabia among the top five doctors and Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital among the top hospital-claimants as well. Sarabia is among the hospital officials of Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital and in two other sister-hospitals including Iloilo City's Saviour International Hospital (SIH).
There must be an immediate 'win-win' solution, he stressed where he said, "the PhiHealth wins, the poor people wins, the doctors win and the hospital win as well."
"This is really a social issue. All systems, whether government or not, can be a target of fraud. I don't refute PhilHealth's claim. It is not for me to do that. But let us talk about the blindness problem in the Philippines," Sarabia said. "Of course we charge PhilHealth with our doctor's fee. What are we slaves? We have families to feed. Have houses to build and children to educate. We are completely mis-understood."
His system, he explained, does not "recruit" cataract patients but "facilitates" with a rigid pre-operative screening. Previous years had him screen potential patients numbering from 4,000 to 8,000 total. Yet by year-end, records would show he said that he significantly trimmed down the operative patients to about 600 to 800.
"My conscience is clear. All I want is to help the poor. All I do is work on getting get low-cost, high volume and high-quality eye surgeries," Sarabia continued. "The poor like the rich have as much right to eyesight."
And all these, he said, were made possible with his partnership with Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Hospital.
"This is really a story about a group of doctors and a hospital who decided to help the poor. This is not a story of a group of doctors and a hospital who want to defraud PhilHealth," he explained. "It is a God-given right to use the PhilHealth. Now why will PhilHealth complain?"
Asked on the practice of fellow Bacolod City-based eye specialists Dr. Nonito Avecilla and Dr. Leopoldo Cuaycong, Sarabia refused to give further comment yet said that it is not up to him nor the hospital to question the duo's "style."
TNT in an independent investigation gathered that ongoing PhilHealth probe primarily covers practice of two Ilonggo doctors and two hospitals. SIH's Evangeline Johnson came out to dismiss any fraudulent practices in her Bacolod hospital as she decried what she said were personal attacks made.
She also named Avecilla, Cuaycong and Sarabia as among her top three eye doctors.
The PhilHealth to this date has yet to officially name its targets however Atty. Jay Villegas, head of the PhilHealth Central Office's Fact-Finding Investigation Section said the "red flag" is up on hospital and doctors doing cataract cases in Western Visayas.