Makati Med maintains stable hospital rates amid global economic headwinds

Makati Medical Center (MMC), one of the country’s top hospitals, said on Thursday that it has kept its hospital fees steady and remains committed to doing so despite inflation and higher fuel prices driven by the war in the Middle East.

“We are aware that in the coming months, due to inflation and all of these issues, prices of delivery services will increase,” Arnold C. Ocampo, chief financial officer and interim co-president and chief executive officer (CEO) of MMC, said during an executive media session for the launch of MMC’s WellnessHub.

“But as much as possible, we have kept our prices the same,” he added.

Mr. Ocampo noted that MMC follows a periodic price increase schedule, where reviews and adjustments for its services occur every two to three years.

Although some suppliers of medicines and medical supplies have raised prices since the onset of the war, this was considered part of a routine that predates the crisis involving inflation and fuel issues.

However, MMC has been able to keep prices steady, Mr. Ocampo said, noting the hospital’s purchasing power given the volume of supplies it purchases.
He added that some suppliers have also opted to keep their prices unchanged.

“As much as possible, we check our services to see if we can still hold on. But if not, we implement price adjustments on our services as well, on a routine basis,” Mr. Ocampo told BusinessWorld.

Asked about reports from the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PHAPi) that some of its member hospitals may raise certain hospital fees by at least 5% due to higher fuel costs, inflation, and the weakening peso, Mr. Ocampo said MMC, a member of PHAPi, was not among those implementing such increases.

“We did not make such announcements. So, as much as possible, we do try to keep our promises,” he said.

Mr. Ocampo also said that MMC’s current pricing for its services has enough ‘leeway’ to ensure that price increases from suppliers are not immediately passed on to consumers.

To maintain this trend, he said MMC is focusing on increasing its “patient census” by encouraging more individuals to avail themselves of medical services, such as the recently launched WellnessHub, the center’s one-stop-shop wellness and preventive care facility.

Despite efforts to keep hospital prices stable, Mr. Ocampo said there remains a possibility of a hike by year-end amid ongoing economic pressures.

“If this fuel crisis continues until the end of the year, there might be some need to implement price increases, hopefully toward the end of this year,” he said.

If such adjustments occur, they would typically range from 2% to 3%, Mr. Ocampo said, citing historical increases. — Edg Adrian A. Eva