Poe to PhilHealth: Speed up payment of unpaid hospital claims

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe urged anew the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) on Friday to immediately settle unpaid claims of multiple hospitals as it could strain their pandemic response.

Citing reports, Poe said that in the Western Visayas alone—including Iloilo City—claims of hospitals and laboratories have reached over P800 million.

“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,” the senator said in a statement.

READ: Settle P860M in hospital claims, PhilHealth asked

The senator pointed out that local authorities in the same region have raised alarm to inform the national government of the lack of hospital beds, dwindling medical staff, inadequate vaccine supply, shortage of medicines, and the slack in payment of PhilHealth’s dues.

Poe said PhilHealth “owes it to its members” to be able to handle challenges that hinder its system to reimburse hospitals.

The senator added that the state health insurer should review and determine if the new system that implements a Debit-Credit Payment Method that was put to fast-track payments of claims is efficient enough.

“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 added.

Amid the complaints about slow disbursement, PhilHealth earlier announced that it has already paid nearly 80 percent of hospital claims, amounting to P231 billion distributed to hospitals for the claims of its beneficiaries. Faith Yuen Wei Ragasa, Inquirer trainee

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