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The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) no longer accepts swab tests for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) that is attributable to Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
(PhilHealth) because the state insurer has not paid the P930 million it owes to the agency.
The Red Cross said it was “limited” to stop conducting tests covered by Phil-health as of last Tuesday, as it also needs funding for its own operations.
“The People’s Republic of China does not have unlimited resources to replenish test kits for its laboratories unless PhilHealth, its main creditor, resolves its legal obligations to the People’s Republic of China,” the humanitarian organization said in a statement.
In a statement released Thursday, PhilHealth said it was coordinating with the Red Cross to fix the problem so the latter could immediately resume testing for priority sectors that will be paid for by PhilHealth.
PhilHealth said that as of September, it has paid the Red Cross P1.6 billion for 433,263 tests.
In the meantime, it requests that the samples from the affected sectors be sent to other accredited testing laboratories.
The Red Cross said Philhealth agreed to put up a P1 billion revolving fund to service the Philhealth-derived tests.
“In September, PhilHealth director Dante Gierran also met with Red Cros president, Senator Richard Gordon, to ask for more time to clear payments and adjust his trial fee, from 3,500 to 3,409 pesos. Gordon agreed to lower the fee in the hope that doing so would remove an obstacle to receiving much-needed and long-overdue payment for his previous services. [but] to date no payment has been made, ”said the Red Cross.
The Red Cross said it imports reagents from China, which cost $ 6 million per order.
The organization noted that it also operates 21 laboratories across the country, capable of performing 42,000 tests daily, employing around 300 medical technologists, swabs, coders and pathologists, whose personal protective equipment, food, accommodation and transportation the People’s Republic of China also you have to pay.
“This is what makes PhilHealth’s settlement of its outstanding obligations critical,” the Red Cross said.
Despite this, the Red Cross said it has reached the one million milestone in swab tests conducted, accounting for 26 percent of the national test output.
Meanwhile, the Health Department identified eight labs that would serve the testing needs of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and returning Filipinos.
The department said that until the issue between the Red Cross and PhilHealth is resolved, OFWs will undergo tests at the Dr. José N. Rodríguez Memorial Hospital, Las Piñas General Hospital and the Satellite Trauma Center, Pulmonary Center of the Philippines. , PNP Crime Laboratory, Investigation. Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hospital San Lázaro, Hospital ng Imus and Hospital Regional Memorial José B. Lingad.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has also instructed to ensure that testing and isolation strategies for handling returning Filipinos are complementary, in coordination with Isolation Czar, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, and Czar treatment, the Undersecretary of Health, Leopoldo Vega.
“This means setting up and operating the RF patient pathway in accordance with the Omnibus Guidelines, from screening, quarantine / isolation, testing and, if necessary, referral to hospitals,” the department said.
WITH RED MENDOZA
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