PhilHealth says talks with private hospitals ongoing regarding claims

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Monday said it has ongoing talks with various private hospitals, following reports of delayed payment of claims.

“Nakikipag-usap [tayo] sa mga hospitals para mag-agree or reconcile ng data ng mga amounts ng claims na kailangang bayaran. ‘Yan ‘yung unang step. Tapos pino-process na ‘yung kanilang mga claims. Tuloy-tuloy naman ang process ng claims nila eh,” PhilHealth spokesperson Shirley Domingo said in an interview on GMA's Unang Balita.

(We are talking to them to agree or reconcile the data of the amount of claims that need to be paid. That’s the first step, then we process their claims. The processing of claims is continuous.)

The Private Hospitals Associations of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) also initially scheduled a five-day “PhilHealth holiday” starting January 1, 2022, as a protest over PhilHealth's alleged delayed payment of claims amounting to billions of pesos.

However, this was postponed to educate the public first on the purpose of the PhilHealth holiday and to give patients instructions on what to do during its implementation, according to PHAPI President Dr. Jose Rene de Grano.

Domingo said the matter may no longer result to a Philhealth holiday as they are already coordinating with hospitals to discuss the mentioned issues.

On December 29, PhilHealth announced a one-month extension of the validity of all currently accredited health facilities, after a number of hospitals said they would no longer renew accreditation starting January. —KG, GMA News