President Rodrigo Duterte assured on Monday evening that the government will pay the overdue balance of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) amounting to nearly Php 1 billion to the Philippine Red Cross.
“Do not worry. We will pay. It will take time, but we will pay. We’ll look for the money. Not many, but our priorities here are really medical – medical and treatment, medical attention,” President Duterte guaranteed.
The Philippine Red Cross has earlier suspended PhilHealth-funded RT-PCR testing due to the accumulated arrears of the PhilHealth.
The PhilHealth has welcomed the latest pronouncement of President Duterte, saying that “is more than sufficient to assure the [Philippine Red Cross].”
“Hindi affected ang benefit ng mga sectors na nagpapa-swab test dahil dinadala naman sa ibang accredited labs ang specimen nila so they get to avail pa rin of their benefit ranging from P900 to P3409 (The benefits of sectors being tested are not affected because their specimens are brought to accredited labs, so they can still avail of their benefit ranging from Php 900 to Php 3,409), PhilHealth Spokesperson Rey Baleña explained in a text message.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday added that there are at least 112 accredited RT-PCR laboratories nationwide and 35 GeneXpert laboratories as an alternative for the testing.
He likewise assured that “at least half of that (balance to PRC) will be paid at the soonest time possible.”
The PRC said that it will coordinate with concerned agencies to resolve the matter.
– Report from Mela Lesmoras
