THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) announced it will soon release the third wave of advance payments for claims related to novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases with an estimated worth of P13 billion.
In a virtual briefing, PhilHealth spokesman Shirley B. Domingo said they will implement the latest round of their Debit-Credit Payment Method (DCPM) to address the concern of medical facilities, which complained of long delays in their reimbursement.
Under the said scheme, PhilHealth will issue cash to its accredited hospitals equivalent to the amount of their claims minus tax, which it is still processing.
“We do not have an exact amount [of the payment] because it will depend on who will avail of it. But we estimate, if all which are qualified will avail of it, it will be around P13 billion,” Domingo told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message.
The third wave of DCPM will be offered nationwide to hospitals, which are managing a Covid cases.
PhilHealth noted it already released P11.04 billion through the initial waves of the DCPM.
Domingo maintained their DCPM, which is a kind of interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM), is allowed under Republic Act 7875 and the Universal Health Care Law.
This is contrary to the position of the Commission on Audit (COA) that such scheme has no legal basis.
Domingo said they will request for post facto approval from the President to provide further legal basis for the IRM.
Ongoing coordination
THE state insurer made the assurance on Wednesday after some hospitals threatened to disengage with PhilHealth due to its delayed reimbursement for Covid-related cases.
Patients in non-PhilHealth accredited health facilities must process their PhilHealth reimbursement on their own.
As of Wednesday, Domingo said they have yet to receive an official notice from any hospital, which wants to disengage with PhilHealth.
Nevertheless, she said they are already coordinating with the hospitals, which are complaining of the delayed reimbursements.
“We are implementing several reforms and continuously reaching out to these hospitals to avert any situation that will not be good to our members,” Domingo said.
P13B in 3rd wave of advance PhilHealth payments due soon
Source: News Paper Radio
0 Comments