DOH chief blames PhilHealth exec committee for payment inefficiency

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 11) — Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa blamed the executive committee of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) for inefficiency in the payment of hospital claims.

In a Senate finance subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Herbosa, who is also PhilHealth board chairman, said that there should be no unsettled arrears.

«I would blame the executive committee of PhilHealth, who has been doing and managing PhilHealth, on what we call inefficiency of payment because hospitals depend on them,» he said.

PhilHealth said it has ₱27.2 billion in payables from 2014 to 2023. As of Aug. 2, it said it paid ₱19.7 billion to both government and private hospitals.

However, PhilHealth said it is uncertain whether hospitals have already received the payment as its system has been hacked recently.

Herbosa proposed to treat PhilHealth financing the same way credit cards work.

«If PhilHealth doesn’t pay the hospitals, the benefits they have given to their members, PhilHealth’s money, the hospitals should have a right to bill them finance charges,» he said.