 with patient travel vehicles (PTVs) — designed for non-life-threatening cases,){kind=link}
WHAT USE WILL supplying all local government units (LGUs) with patient travel vehicles (PTVs) — designed for non-life-threatening cases, such as scheduled medical visits, routine checkups, and hospital discharges, which are prohibited from using emergency blinkers and sirens — if the recipient hospital would only shun the patient away because the government has not been paying the refunds from advances incurred by hospitals during the epidemic as PhilHealth and the Department of Health have not been giving so hospitals can provide better care?
What use would the President’s aspiration of zero out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare, especially for indigent patients, if all these pronouncements are just lip service with no corresponding financial assistance, from PhilHealth and from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
We have been making pleasant pronouncements and good optics but nothing in implementation. People are getting tired of promises and assurances, when all this government could offer are band-aid solutions like ayuda, which only drains the coffers with no sustainable solutions in sight.
It is good to hear from the Palace that it wants hospitalization and healthcare to be at no cost to the people, especially the marginalized. Socialized healthcare has been doing great in other countries, even in Asia, which is why it puzzles me why it never seems to get off the ground in our country.
The President said recently that he had already distributed 680 units of ambulances (which are just being used by barangay officials as private family vehicles instead of emergency vehicles) since he became president in June 2022.
‘(De Lima) warned that unresolved claims compromise the ability of hospitals to provide quality healthcare, leading some to stop honoring guarantee letters for indigent patients—or worse, shut down.’
EXPANDING HEALTH INSURANCE
He spoke of plans to expand the insurance coverage. But first return the money to PhilHealth so it can reimburse the hospitals from their Covid-19 expenses and distribute the hazard and risk pays of hospital staff, which were promised to them..
The President noted that if the government successfully reduces patient contributions and fixes the economy, “then maybe we can reach the point where patients won’t have to contribute anything anymore.” (Easier said than done, Sir).
The pandemic exposed several gaps in the country’s healthcare system. These lessons are now being applied to build stronger systems. Marcos added he approved a P2.2-billion budget to procure and distribute 1,000 PTVs nationwide. Each unit is equipped with essential medical tools, including a stretcher, oxygen tank, blood pressure monitor, and other supplies to ensure safe and timely patient transport.
PROBE ON PAYMENT BACKLOGS
Bagong Henerasyon partylist Rep. Roberto Gerard L. Nazal, Jr. asked the House Committees on Health, on Good Government and Public Accountability, and Appropriations to jointly investigate the extent and impact of payment backlogs of the DoH, PhilHealth and other related agencies.
Last June 6, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PHAPI) said that several of its member hospitals no longer honor guarantee letters for indigent patients because of the P530-million unpaid claims, including a staggering P94 million owed to just one hospital in Batangas.
“These are not theoretical debts … (for) emergency surgeries completed, infants delivered, chemotherapy administered, and lives momentarily saved — now threatened by bureaucratic neglect,” Nazal said in his resolution. “Every unpaid claim represents a person denied care.”
Healthcare reform isn’t just about policy declarations but about timely service delivery. When reimbursements to hospitals and health workers are delayed or withheld, the system fails and people suffer, Nazal explained.
Nazal is calling for full accountability and transparency in addressing the crisis.
He urged his colleagues to examine the root causes of the delays, such as flaws in digital claims processing, inefficient fund release procedures, and outdated internal controls.
Nazal is also pushing for a probe into the abuses under the case-rate system, including reports of hospitals overcharging or submitting fraudulent claims. He recommended systemic safeguards, including regular audits, harsher penalties, greater billing transparency, and the establishment of independent grievance mechanisms.
DE LIMA’S RESOLUTION
House Resolution 46, filed by Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila M. de Lima resulted from revelations from PHAPI that 43 hospitals in Batangas alone are awaiting payment for P530 million, with one incurring reimbursement of P94 million.
“We need to get to the bottom of this to protect the rights of patients and their families and ensure that the government fulfills its duty to pay its obligation to hospitals and clinics over unsettled bills,” said De Lima.
She warned that unresolved claims compromise the ability of hospitals to provide quality healthcare, leading some to stop honoring guarantee letters for indigent patients—or worse, shut down.
#healthcaresystem
#delayedreimbursements
#PHAPI
#PresidentMarcos
#outofpocketexpenses
#ThePhInsider