The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is set to pay the services of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) as soon as possible.
PRC Chair Senator Richard Gordon initially confirmed that the unpaid money owed by the PhilHealth is around ₱800 million.
However, based on the data of the latter, only ₱635.4 million remain unpaid and ₱2.8 billion have been initially paid for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing.
The agency clarified that the processing of claims has been affected due to the holidays and the strict guidelines of the Commission on Audit (COA).
“Ang Philhealth po ay committed sa ating partnership with the Philippine Red Cross. Sinisikap po natin na mapabilis ang processing at pagbabayad ng kanilang claims [pero tayo] ay nababakuran ng mga panuntunan, in particular COA rules. Kaya humihingi po kami ng kaunting pang-unawa pa sa Philippine Red Cross at sa ating mga kababayan. (PhilHealth is committed to our partnership with the Philippine Red Cross. We are doing our best to hasten the processing and payment of their claims [but we] are hindered by guidelines, in particular COA rules. That’s why we are asking PRC and the public for a little more understanding),” Philhealth Spokesperson Rey Baleña stated.
Sen. Gordon explained that the PRC will be forced to again stop its testing since it will need to purchase more supplies and continue to pay its workers. The Palace assured that PhilHealth will not run from its obligation to pay its arrears with the PRC regarding the COVID-19 RT-PCR testing. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio
