MANILA – PhilHealth members need not worry about their hospital dues because the institution has enough funds for the rest of the year.
Dr. Shirley Domingo, spokesperson of the government health insurance service said in a radio-TV interview on Tuesday that they are ready to shoulder the health needs of their members.
“Usually we pay the bills of our members from contributions we got for the year but in case the contribution is lacking, we have reserved funds to ensure payment,” Domingo said.
Last week, PhilHealth appealed to congress for Php 138-billion subsidy to finance various health programs under the Universal Health Care Act because it would be running a deficit by the end of 2020. PhilHealth officials attribute the deficit from low collection rate of the agency from its members. PhilHealth is expected to shoulder about Php 40.7-billion in medical bills of Covid-19 patients from February 2020 until 2021.
Dr. Domingo also advised private hospital owners to go to their PhilHealth regional offices for account reconciliation so that they can be paid in case there are unpaid obligations of their office. “Magpunta lang sila sa regional offices namin at usap lang kami,” (Just go to our office, we’ll talk) she said.
She was referring to news reports that many private hospitals are closing because of non-payment of PhilHealth. “Hindi naman ang PhilHealth lang ang dahilan sa sitwasyon nila, marami pa. Natakot talaga ang mga tao na pumunta sa hospital dahil sa Covid pandemic” (It is not only PhilHealth that causes their dire situation, there are more. People are really afraid to go to hospitals due to the Covid pandemic), she continued.
PhilHealth clarified that they are not asking for the delay in the implementation of the UHC but to help them fund the programs that are under the said law.
