Some hospitals in danger of shutting down over unpaid PhilHealth claims, says group

The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PHAPI) on Thursday said that some private hospitals have sounded the alarm over the possibility of stopping operations due to unpaid reimbursements by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

"[T]here are feedback given to the PHAPI by some hospitals... na pinarating sa pamunuan ng PHAPI that they could probably close if they don't get payment from PhilHealth," spokesperson Jhihann Natividad said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

On Tuesday, Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez filed a resolution urging PhilHealth to pay P18 billion in unpaid reimbursement to hospitals across the country.

However, Natividad said PHAPI is still collecting data as the information used by Rodriguez came from the Philippine Hospitals Association, which is composed of both private and government hospitals, while PHAPI is only composed of private hospitals.

". . .I still have to see the list as to which hospitals have said that and as to which hospitals are really struggling right now," she said.

However, even without the data, Natividad said it was common knowledge how hospitals relied on reimbursements from PhilHealth.

"Most probably you will expect it to be that way kasi kung laki ng revenue ay inaasahan sa PhilHealth payment, the hospital will definitely bleed. Pero tayo, we don't want to argue about something na wala tayong data," she said.

"Kaya ang stand po ng PHAPI diyan is let's go back to the record, the system, we talk about your claims and what is it that has not been paid. Dapat mag-usap-usap na," she added.

Created in 1995 to implement universal health coverage in the Philippines, PhilHealth is a tax-exempt, government-owned and controlled corporation that is attached to the Department of Health. —Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News