Stroke Victim Refused Treatment By Hospital

       A middle aged mother of teenage girls recently had a stroke. She was taken immediately to a hospital, but was turned away and denied treatment by the hospital because the family was unable to prove at that very moment that they had the funds to pay for her hospital care. Valuable time was lost, and now the woman is permanently disabled. She may not have been had she been treated right away.

       It is well known that treating a stroke or heart attack victim soon after the occurrence is crucial to lessen the risks of permanent disability or death. How is it possible that a hospital turns away someone that just had a stroke, and sends that person out of the hospital and onto the streets? 

       A better question that should be asked is how can this be so common and widespread in so many countries of the world, and yet is almost completely ignored, let alone even heard of? Poor people are being further left behind in a world where power and wealth are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. 

       In the Philippines, President Duterte signed into law Republic Act 10392, an amendment of the country's anti-hospital deposit law, which calls for higher penalties to hospitals and clinics that refuse to treat emergency room patients that cannot afford a deposit, advance payment or proof of their financial ability to pay the hospital bill.

       Will a law protect the poor in the Philippines? What about all the other countries where no such law exists but the practice of turning away poor people by hospitals and clinics is common? Even where there are laws prohibiting such a practice, it is meaningless if the laws exist only on paper and are not enforced.

        For this unfortunate middle aged mother of teenage girls, the damage has already been done.