Hasten hospital reimbursements, PhilHealth told

MANILA, Philippines — Amid threats of some private hospitals to disengage with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III yesterday urged the state insurer to speed up the payment of reimbursement claims.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, Duque said PhilHealth should “accelerate payment on those with sufficient documentation.”

“There should be legal basis … It is difficult to pay money from the system, where contributions are hard earned without ascertaining that the documents are valid, went through adjudication process,” he said.

He stressed that civil servants have to exercise caution in dispensing public funds as they are subject to scrutiny by the Commission on Audit.

The health chief, however, gave assurance that PhilHealth is “sufficiently funded.”

Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. president Jose Rene de Grano had earlier announced that some members in Metro Manila, Iloilo, Cagayan Valley and General Santos City were poised to disengage with PhilHealth over its continued failure to reimburse them.

De Grano said more hospitals this month are expected to announce their plans not to renew their accreditation with PhilHealth.

Despite the meetings and pleadings they had with PhilHealth officials, the state insurer has not paid their claims, which mostly covered the services rendered to COVID-19 patients in 2020, he said.

He lamented that because of this, many hospitals are now struggling to sustain operations.