INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has paid P12 billion in COVID-19 related claims and is implementing strategies to fast-track the release of funds to hospitals, according to Shirley Domingo, vice president for corporate affairs.
The P12 billion covered testing packages, community isolation unit benefits and patient benefits.
Domingo said there were delays in processing COVID-19 claims, which comprise 15 percent of the total claims.
One of the reasons for this was the nonsubmission of required documents, she said.
But she also said PhilHealth had been taking steps to address bottlenecks in the processing of requests and would comply with President Duterte’s directive to pay all pending claims.
“We know that, that the hospitals need additional financial resources, especially now that the variant [causing] a surge is now here,” Domingo said at the Laging Handa briefing.
PhilHealth is meeting with its regional vice presidents and the hospitals to discuss strategies to fast-track claims payments, she said.