PHAPI: P3-million unpaid PhilHealth claims cause temporary shut down of 2 hospitals

Two hospitals in Davao and Samar have temporarily stopped their operations allegedly due to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's (PhilHealth) failure to pay more than P3 million in claims from the institutions.

According to Joseph Morong's "24 Oras" report, Private Hospitals Association Philippines President Jose de Grano said the two hospitals could no longer sustain its operations especially their treatment of COVID-19 patients.

De Grano, however, did not disclose the names of the hospitals.

"Dahil sa hindi kayang isustain ang operations nila lalo na ang COVID-19 dahil hindi sila nakakatanggap ng bayad mula sa PhilHealth doon sa mga pasyente nito," de Grano said.

[They could no longer sustain their operations because PhilHealth still owed them claims which is the payment for their patients.]

Under the state insurer's COVID-19 care package, mild patients are entitled to P43,000; severe have P333,000; and critical patients have P786,000.

De Grano said PhilHealth still had more than P5 billion unpaid claims, which could trigger some private hospitals to stop operations.

At a congressional hearing earlier, PhilHealth Chief Dante Gierran lamented that the agency was hurting from controversies but vowed that to pay 60% of unpaid hospital claims by next week. —Consuelo Marquez/NB, GMA News