A hospital demanded a deposit before emergency care, or refused/delayed an emergency — where do I file?

Health Facilities Oversight Board (HFOB), under the HFSRB — Department of Health. Deadline: No fixed filing window in the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law, but file as soon as possible while evidence is fresh. HFOB decides within 60 days of a case being submitted for resolution. Fee: None. Governing law: RA 10932 (Anti-Hospital Deposit Law); DOH AO 2021-0018 (complaint handling).

A hospital is detaining the patient (or withholding a body) over an unpaid bill — where do I file?

Send a written demand to the hospital citing RA 9439; escalate to the DOH if it refuses. Deadline: Act immediately — detention is a continuing criminal act. RA 9439 lets a recovered/discharged patient who cannot pay leave upon signing a promissory note. Fee: None. Governing law: RA 9439 (Anti-Hospital Detention Act, 2007), §1–§3; DOH AO 2008-0001.

You were charged despite being No Balance Billing–eligible, or billed above the case rate — where do I file?

PhilHealth — the Corporate Action Center, which audits the provider and can order a refund. Deadline: No hard deadline to complain, but raise it promptly. PhilHealth targets a fact-finding report within 60 days of receipt. Fee: None. Governing law: PhilHealth Circular 2020-0024 (No Co-payment / No Balance Billing).

PhilHealth denied or underpaid your claim — where do I file?

PhilHealth protest → appeal ladder: PRO-CRC (protest), then PARD (appeal). Deadline: Act immediately. File your Protest in writing with the PhilHealth Regional Office Claims Review Committee (PRO-CRC) as soon as you can — no circular states a deadline for that step, so ask the PRO in writing to state your exact deadline. If the protest is denied, you have 15 calendar days from receipt of the order to appeal to the Protests and Appeals Review Department (PARD), with the appeal fee (PhilHealth Circular No. 03, s. 2008, §8). A PARD resolution is final and executory — but not the end of the road: §12 preserves judicial review by the Court of Appeals under Rule 43 of the Rules of Court. ⚠️ If you have read that you have “about 60 days to protest”, that is a different deadline — 60 calendar days is the period to FILE the claim, counted from the date of discharge (RA 10606 §35), not from the denial notice. Fee: An appeal fee applies at the PARD stage (paid on filing the appeal). Governing law: PhilHealth Circular No. 03, s. 2008 (administrative remedies on denied or reduced benefit claims); PC 2025-0019 §IV (current PRO-BAS → PRO-CRC → PARD ladder); RA 10606 §35 (60-day claim filing period).

A licensed doctor or nurse committed malpractice, negligence, or misconduct — where do I file?

Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) — Legal Service. Deadline: No single fixed deadline in the PRC rules, but file while witnesses and records are available. A PRC case is separate from any civil or criminal case you may also file. Fee: ₱245.00 filing fee (indigent litigants with a certificate of indigency are exempt). Governing law: PRC 2025 Revised Rules in Administrative Investigations.

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Where to go for medical help — or to complain

Two things sink a desperate family: going to the wrong office, and arriving without the one document that gets you turned away. This free navigator routes you to the right place — either the assistance program that pays your bill (in the legal order of charging) or the exact office to complain to — with the documents, address, deadline, and fee pre-loaded. No account needed.

Sa FilipinoMay sakit at hindi kayang magbayad, o may nangyaring mali sa ospital? Piliin sa ibaba kung kailangan mo ng tulong sa bayarin o gusto mong magreklamo — ipapakita namin ang tamang programa o opisina, kasama ang mga dokumento, address, deadline, at bayad. Basahin sa Tagalog →