MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Grace Poe on Friday called on the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to immediately settle the reported unpaid claims of hundreds of hospitals warning that failure to do so would jeopardize their pandemic response.
In Western Visayas, including Iloilo City, claims of hospitals and laboratories have reached over P800 million, Poe said citing reports from the region.
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The senator added that local executives from the area have sounded the alarm to the national government over the shortage in hospital beds, medical staff, vaccine supply, medicine and on top of all this, PhilHealth's failure to adequately settle its dues.
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Dr. Jaime Almora, Philippine Hospital Association (PHA) president, last month told a Senate panel that the state-run insurer was reimbursing non-COVID claims but failing to remit COVID ones, causing both private and public hospitals "severe financial distress."
“PhilHealth should pay up. Hospitals are battlegrounds in this fight against COVID-19. They need what’s due to them, especially in this time when a number of them are overwhelmed with patients due to the recent surge of infections,” Poe said.
“Lives are on the line every day. The people should be able to rely on the promises of the state health insurer amid the health crisis.”
Poe also urged PhilHealth to review its Debit-Credit Payment Method which it started implementing in April to validate and fast-track the payment of claims.
— Bella Perez-Rubio