PhilHealth coordinates with Red Cross to address COVID-19 testing fee issue

Photo from Radyo Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Thursday said that it was in “close coordination” with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to address its payment issues on COVID-19 testing with the organization.

This comes after the Red Cross announced its decision to stop PhilHealth-funded COVID-19 testing such until the state health insurer settles its balance of over P993 million to the humanitarian organization.

Those affected are overseas Filipino workers, those arriving in airports and seaports, frontline health and government workers, individuals through the mega swabbing facilities and through the local government units and those included in the expanded testing guidelines of the  Department of Health.

In a statement, the state health insurer said that it “recognizes” the PRC as an “important partner in the government’s drive to curb COVID-19  through intensive targeted testing.”

“It is in close coordination with the PRC to thresh out issues pertaining to the said partnership so the PRC can immediately resume accommodating RT-PCR tests for priority sectors that will be paid for by PhilHealth,” the insurer said.

PhilHealth also added that as of September 2020, the insurer already paid Red Cross a total of P1.6 billion for at least 433,263 tests.

And while Red Cross has stopped to accept specimens for COVID-19 testing, PhilHealth has requested that affected sectors submit their specimens “to other accredited testing laboratories to be able to avail of PhilHealth benefits.”

The full list of testing laboratories provided by PhilHealth can be viewed here.

JPV