Health workers feel maltreated after long overdue PhilHealth debts —doctors’ group

Medical workers feel they are being maltreated as they lament the still unpaid claims of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to hospitals, the head of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) said Sunday.

In last week's congressional hearing, PhilHealth said it still needs to pay P21.1 billion in unpaid claims to hospitals.

PCP president Dr. Maricar Limpin revealed that some hospitals have not yet received the hospital claims since March last year.

"Sana tratuhin kami ng tama ng PhilHealth kasi medyo masama na po ang loob ng aming kasamahan kasi ang feeling po namin ay masyado na po kaming minamaltrato," said Limpin over Dobol B TV.

(I hope PhilHealth will treat us well because our fellow health workers are already mad because we feel that we are being maltreated.)

Limpin also said they are appealing to PhilHealth to identify the hospitals that the state insurer had already paid.

Nevertheless, the PCP official said health workers will continue to treat COVID-19 patients even as they have been risking their lives since the pandemic hit the country.

"Ang nasa isip namin na gawin ang aming trabaho. Siguraduhin na ma-save natin ang malaking porsyento ng kababayan, kung hindi lahat at least malaking porsyento," she said.

(We only think of doing our jobs. We will make sure to save the majority of our countrymen, if not all, maybe a huge percentage.)

The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPi) said more hospitals temporarily stopped operations due to unpaid claims of the beleaguered PhilHealth. 

PhilHealth spokesperson Dr. Shirley Domingo on Saturday however clarified that the P21.1 billion cited in last week's congressional hearing are not all debts. 

"As of August 24, 2021, nasa ?21-B ang claims ng mga ospital na babayaran ng PhilHealth. Hindi lahat 'yan ay utang. 'Yan ang in-process sa amin as of August 24," she said on Dobol B TV.

(As of August 24, 2021, the claims of hospitals have reached P21 billion. But not all of it are debts. Those are our in-process as of August 24.)

Dr. Domingo kaugnay sa babayarang utang ng PhilHealth sa ilang ospital: As of August 24, 2021, nasa ?21-B ang claims ng mga ospital na babayaran ng PhilHealth, hindi lahat 'yan ay utang, 'yan ang in-process sa amin as of August 24.

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) August 29, 2021

Domingo also said PhilHealth receives an average of 50,000 claims a day. PhilHealth however processes payments daily, and total payments average P2 billion a week, she said.

Dr. Domingo: Madagdagan at mababawasan pa ito. Nagbabayad kasi tayo everyday.

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) August 29, 2021

—KG, GMA News