St. Luke’s Medical Center is seen in Bonifacio Global City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The hospital is among the parties that worked with the Guam governor’s office to allow travel for emergency medical care from Guam to the Philippines.
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Medicaid and Medically Indigent Program, or MIP, patients can now receive the care they need for services that are not available on Guam, as St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines has officially become a provider for Guam Medicaid.
The first-of-its-kind partnership between the Department of Public Health and Social Services and St. Luke’s will bring much-needed health care to more than 47,300 eligible individuals on the island, the governor said.
“This partnership is a great example of how health care providers and government agencies can work together to improve the health outcomes of our communities,” Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in a press release issued by DPHSS.
DPHSS Director Arthur San Agustin said the agreement allows providers to “reach more of our people.”
“Our mission is to help our citizens get the care that they deserve, regardless of their financial status, … and ensure that they receive the best possible care,” San Agustin said.
The agreement was signed Thursday morning.
Ready for patients
“I think we have accepted (patients) already, and we (were) ready even before the signing,” Dr. Dennis Serrano, St. Luke’s president and CEO, said during the signing. “Whatever the formalities, … everything can wait, but patients cannot. So we are ready anytime.”
According to Serrano, the very first patient was accepted Wednesday.
“We have state-of-the-art equipment. So, anything that is cutting edge for cardiac care, for surgical care, for neurology, orthopedics, maternal and child health – we are able to offer everything. From the basic executive checkup to the most complicated robotic surgeries that you will need,” he said.
According to Serrano, the hospital’s goal is to become a center of excellence in the Asia-Pacific region, and also for the United States.
“I am very proud and we are very willing to offer all of these services to the patients in Guam, regardless of whether you are self-pay, you are HMO or on managed care, … even for the medically indigent patients of Guam,” he said.
Anyone who is referred by Guam Memorial Hospital, Guam Regional Medical City or other clinics will be seen by St. Luke’s professionals in any capacity that is needed, he said.
“They will be accepted. We will not discriminate,” said Serrano.
Currently, there is no waitlist, he said. However, the hospital’s leadership said there surely will be one in the future.
“Medical care is critical and time-bound. … If you have cancer, it just gets worse day in and day out. … Service and treatment care is very, very critical. The timing is very critical. So we will facilitate everything,” said Serrano.
How quickly would patients be able to receive care from the point of applying to receiving medical attention in the Philippines?
“As soon as the Medicaid program tells us the patient is ready. We will be willing to accept on the same day,” he said.
“We can do from hospital to hospital. So we can be pretty immediate in terms of a referral to St. Luke’s Medical Center,” San Agustin said.
Medicare not accepted
“With regards to Medicare, it’s not a referral process that we can do to St. Luke’s Medical Center,” said San Agustin. “A person can’t travel … to St. Luke’s or any other facility in the Philippines for a specific service under Medicare. However, what they can do – or what can happen, rather – is if they’re out there on vacation, and it’s medically necessary, they can then go into a health care facility to receive services.”
He stated that when patients return home, they can then apply for reimbursement through the Medicare program and “that’s how that works.”
“Medicare works differently; it has to be medically necessary, and it is not something that we would refer to any other facilities in the Philippines,” San Agustin said.
