Advocates urge focus on universal health care, funding

A viral complaint about a doctor’s professional fees has sparked an online debate that seems to pit doctors against patients. However, advocates and medical practitioners say the real problem lies in systemic gaps in healthcare policy and funding, which leave patients burdened with high costs and doctors underpaid.

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Health advocate Tony Leachon echoed this view, saying the viral post is not just an attack on one doctor. Rather, it reflects a lack of understanding of the value of medical service, where blame is shifted onto doctors instead of systemic neglect.

"This is about a culture that vilifies those who serve, while ignoring the institutions that fail them," he said in a Facebook post on Monday, August 11.

For many doctors in the Philippines, Leachon said, the day stretches into night to early morning inside crowded, understaffed wards. And even when faced with patients who cannot afford medical services, doctors offer to cut their professional fees or waive them altogether.

"They do this not because they are obligated to — but because they care. Because they honor the Hippocratic Oath. Because they believe in service. ‘And yet, they are the ones being shamed," he added.

What happened. The argument came after a Facebook post by broadcaster Ramon Tulfo, who claimed a surgeon charged P85,000 in professional fees to treat a patient with a diabetic leg wound, went viral.

Despite raising P350,000, Tulfo said the family still needed to pay an additional P139,000 because of the high fee. He also stood by his posts, even after healthcare professionals issued statements to defend the doctor in question.

Medical organizations and associations disputed the claim, saying Tulfo’s post relied on unverified information. They clarified that the fee was reduced to about P45,000 for inpatient treatment of over 20 days.

PROFESSIONAL FEES

Leachon said that doctors, like any other professionals, deserve fair compensation for their work. Charging a professional fee, he added, is neither unfair nor unjust, as doctors even consider a patient’s socioeconomic status and financial capacity.