Press Release
August 16, 2009

ANGARA CALLS FOR AUTONOMOUS SPENDING OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS

Stresses the need to allow public hospitals to implement their strategies for growth independently

Senator Edgardo J. Angara is urging the Senate to legislate for all public and government-operated hospitals to be allowed to retain all forms of their income to be maximized in their efforts to continually acquire better facilities and to improve their services, without the need to submit for their budgets to the government annually.

"While government hospitals receive subsidy from the national government, they cannot utilize their income for the maintenance and other operating expenses and capital outlay. Said income is required by law to be remitted to the national treasury. But this practice only hinders the hospital's capability for expansion and improvement of its services.," says Angara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.

To address this counter-productive approach, Angara is proposing to give more autonomy to government hospitals in the area of physical and operational development, allowing them to utilize their income for their maintenance, operating expenses and capital outlay expenditures.

As provided for in the General Appropriations Act, hospitals under the Department of Health (DOH) are already authorized to retain their income since 2003. But the DOH has again proposed the inclusion of said provision in the 2005 GAA.

Government hospitals will then be authorized to utilize their income from pharmacy, in-house services and facilities and non-patient related services such as parking fees, interview fees and tour fees, for the maintenance and other operating expenditures including capital outlay, especially for the acquisition of hospital machineries and equipment. Retained hospitals will only submit a quarterly report of income and expenditures to the DOH, while devolved hospitals will submit the same to the office of the governor or the mayor.

Angara recommends, "This proposal will grant DOH hospitals and all other government hospitals the authority to retain their income permanently, without the need of proposing its inclusion in the annual GAA. Making our government hospitals more financially independent, effective and efficient will consistently ensure quality health services to the people."

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