Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas is expected to file a complaint today, Sept. 2, before the Office of the Ombudsman against Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) officers in Western Visayas over the alleged unpaid claims to medical institutions.
PhilHealth-6 has almost P1 billion of unpaid claims to nine city hospitals and the city government-run Uswag Iloilo City Molecular Laboratory, according to Treñas.
The mayor thanked the Sangguning Panlungsod for authorizing him to take legal action against the state insurer’s alleged inaction.
The reimbursements, he stressed, are important to sustain the operations of hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need a strong healthcare system as we face a strong surge of cases and many are seeking to be confined in the hospitals, specially the elderly, those with comorbidities and the unvaccinated,” said Treñas.
PhilHealth-6 earlier issued a statement claiming that it “has not been remiss in its duty to facilitate the payment of good claims within the time provided by law.”
“[PhilHealth-6] considers healthcare institutions/providers as partners and strives to pay the claims as soon as possible, balancing this with their duty protect public funds,” lawyer Valerie Anne Hollero, PhilHealth-6 regional vice president, said in a statement.
According to Hollero, PhilHealth in Western Visayas has processed the most number of claims among regions in the country.
“For 2021 alone, the [PhilHealth-6] has processed a total of 591,148 claims,” she noted.
“The average Turn-Around Time (TAT) for payment of good claims is 27 days from the time it is filed by the health care institutions (HCIs), making it the second fastest among all Regions in terms of TAT,” Hollero added.IMT
