MANILA – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has suspended the release of funds for hospitals to be used specifically to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a social media post late Thursday, PhilHealth said that they opted to delay the release of an interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM) to hospitals pending the review of the reimbursement program.
“PhilHealth announced the suspension of the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) to review its overall implementation and resolve issues arising from Congressional inquiries,” it said.
“PhilHealth vowed to find ways to make the IRM more responsive to the needs of healthcare facilities affected by the current pandemic to assure patients of continuous access to needed health services,” it added.
PhilHealth, however, clarified that its members who were undergoing medical treatment for COVID-19 can be assured of uninterrupted benefits even with the suspension of IRM distribution.
“Regular COVID-19 in-patient benefits, testing and community isolation packages shall continue to be enjoyed by its affected members,” PhilHealth said.
The implementation of the IRM funds, payments made to hospitals in case of a “fortuitous event” such as the COVID-19 pandemic, was heavily criticized over allegations of favoritism for some hospitals, especially private institutions.
Senators and congressmen have pointed out that some facilities have yet to receive their share of the funds, while there were hospitals that got their IRM first even though they had fewer COVID-19 infections./PN
