8 hospitals to explain alleged overpricing of remdesivir

Eight hospitals are set to be summoned by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to explain the alleged sale of overpriced remdesivir, a drug currently used on COVID-19 patients.

This was after several patients complained of COVID-19, including “Maria” and her husband.

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According to “Maria,” instead of thinking of recovery when they had COVID-19, they had trouble finding money.

It is said that the policy of the hospital they went to was an advance payment of P50,000 to P60,000 for admission. This is in addition to the P10,000 to P15,000 daily hospital fee.

What surprised “Maria” was the price of the remdesivir, which she said was P14,760 per vial.

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“Rose” allegedly experienced the same thing when her mother was admitted to another hospital.

They were asked for an advance payment of P100,000 before continuing the treatment, while the remdesivir charge was P15,000.

Rose’s bill reached P1.2 million after the mother was admitted to the hospital for 10 days. But, unfortunately, his mother also passed away later.

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Until now, “Rose” is still paying the bill.

8 hospitals to explain alleged overpricing of remdesivir

According to the NBI, the Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation noticed and investigated the hospital’s billing.

But the NBI’s investigation will also cover other complaints of exploitation.

According to Metro North Medical Center, where “Rose’s” mother was admitted, they will first wait for the patient’s formal complaint before giving a statement.

Last month, the Department of Health also said it would also investigate reports of overpriced remdesivir.

Dr. Anna Guerrero, chief of DOH pharmaceutical division, said patients are complaining that remdesivir costs as much as P27,000 when its price should range between P1,500 to P8,200 due to “fluctuating supply.”

“When we asked suppliers po…kasi imported po ito from India, hindi po ganun kataas so mukhang ang patong po talaga mga hospital,” she said.

(This is imported from India, the cost shouldn’t be too high, so it seems the price hike came from hospitals.)

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