The Philippine Heart Center, one of the Hospitals in Quezon City. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday instructed the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) to scrap its 50 percent downpayment requirement before operating on patients with cardiovascular complications.

Each open heart surgery usually ranges from P600,000 to P900,000, which means that a patient — including indigents — are required to shoulder between P300,000 and P450,000 before the PHC admits them for operation, data from the state-run hospital showed.

“The ask for a deposit of a 50 percent is a wrong policy,” Department of Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa told PHC officials during budget deliberations in the House of Representatives.

“To make the funding for admission ay yung pero, parang mali,” he said.

House Appropriations Vice Chairperson Stella Quimbo underscored that the PHC has some P3 billion in funds that it could use to cover the operation expenses of indigent patients, while waiting for reimbursements from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

“Mayroon kayong P3 billion. Kami ay nagtataka bakit kayo may ganoong policy?” she said.

“Palitan na natin ang policy na yan. It is very unreasonable,” she added.

PHC Executive Director Avenilo Aventura Jr. agreed that the policy needs to be changed, noting that the scheme was already in place when he took the helm of the hospital some 2 months ago.

“We agree with you. We will revise and change it,” he said.

The PHC was established in 1975 to care for “patients with heart and related ailments” and “alleviate thousands who suffer from cardiovascular diseases, a leading cause of death in the Philippines.”

“The Center has brought renewed hope especially to those who otherwise could not afford specialized medical care,” the PHC’s mandate read.