PhilHealth told: Don’t delay reimbursing hospitals
MANILA, Philippines — Hospitals cannot be made to wait any longer for reimbursements from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Sen. Grace Poe said Friday.
Reimbursement applications with PhilHealth have reached P26 to P28 billion as of December 2020, Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) president Jose de Grano told ABS-CBN News on Tuesday.
De Grano this amount was extrapolated from the claims of their 114 hospital members in Metro Manila, urging PhilHealth to expedite and facilitate the release of their valid reimbursement claims.
“Our hospitals are already bleeding while our medical frontliners put their lives on the line amid the systemic ills that affect our overall capacity to get back on our feet,” Poe said.
"Wag na natin silang pahirapan pa, antagal na nilang nagsasakripisyo at nagtitiis. (Let's not oppress them anymore, they have been sacrificing and enduring for a long time)."
The senator further noted that even public hospitals have been struggling to claim their reimbursements from PhilHealth due to what she called tedious documentation technicalities.
She reminded the agency authorities that Administrative Order No. 23 issued Feb. 21, 2020, by the Office of the President, directs all national government agencies to hasten the reform of their processes in order to eliminate overregulation.
Only steps, procedures, and requirements necessary to fulfill agencies' legal mandates and policy objectives should be retained while processes in excess shall be deemed a manifestation of overregulation and shall be removed accordingly, Poe said.
PhilHealth on Thursday said it "is implementing an alternative method (Debit Credit Payment Method) to fast track claims payments," in recognition of the need for liquidity amid the ongoing health crisis.
"Safeguards have been instituted to ensure valid disbursements from the fund," the agency said on Twitter, adding that it would continue to dialogue with hospitals to resolve issues.
Recognizing the need for liquidity of hospitals during this health crisis, PhilHealth is implementing an alternative method (Debit Credit Payment Method) to fast track claims payments. Safeguards have been instituted to ensure valid disbursements from the fund.
— PhilHealth (@teamphilhealth) April 22, 2021
— Bella Perez-Rubio
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