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Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has guaranteed that it can pay the P930 million it owes to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) for conducting coronavirus testing for the government, but wanted to ensure that its memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the humanitarian organization is on the table.
The state health insurer said on Thursday that it would await the opinion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) “to obtain legal guidance on how to proceed with its payment to the People’s Republic of China.”
“PhilHealth is reiterating that it has the funds to pay its obligations to PRC,” he said.
PhilHealth asked the public for “patience and understanding” and said it wanted to “move forward with this partnership (with PRC) with the proper legal support, all to help ensure that member funds are properly managed and disbursed.”
Collection problem
On October 15, the People’s Republic of China announced that it would no longer be testing for COVID-19 under PhilHealth because the total unpaid testing has soared to P930 million.
As of Wednesday, around 6,000 Filipino Overseas Workers (OFW) have been “stranded” in quarantined hotels as they have to wait several days to obtain COVID-19 test results and receive clearance to return home if they are negative.
The Department of Labor and Employment has warned that the number of OFW stranded will increase rapidly as thousands of people are repatriated daily.
In addition to arriving OFWs, the People’s Republic of China is also responsible for testing passengers at airports and seaports, those requesting COVID-19 testing at government swabbing facilities, front-line health and government workers, and others included in the expanded testing guidelines of the Department of Health (DOH).
The PRC charges the P3,500 testing fee to PhilHealth.
According to PhilHealth, it has paid the PRC P1.6 billion as of September 20 for at least 433,263 tests.
On Thursday, DOH said 10 private labs volunteered to increase their testing volume along with 11 government labs to make up for the disruption to testing in the People’s Republic of China.
“We recognize the fact that the Philippine Red Cross makes a great contribution to daily laboratory results, as its laboratories are distributed throughout the country. So yes, we are affected by the cessation of operations of the Philippine Red Cross ”, said the Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire, in an online press conference.
She said private labs that volunteered may begin handling more tests this weekend, after clearing the protocols so as not to hamper their original operations.
Filling the empty spaces
“Now they are receiving the samples from the different areas to carry out the tests. Having more of them will help prevent bottlenecks caused by the disruption of the Philippine Red Cross, ”said Vergeire.
The DOJ is now reviewing the agreement between PhilHealth and PRC on COVID-19 testing for the government.
“The Department of Justice is reviewing the MOA between the Philippine Red Cross and PhilHealth and will issue an opinion within the week,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters in a Viber message on Thursday.
He said the “full MOA” is covered by the Justice Department review “but more particularly on procurement issues.”
Guevarra said PhilHealth sought the opinion of the Justice Department “before making the decision to pay its debt to the Philippine Red Cross.”
The Justice Department chief said they were investigating “more civil liability,” but added that they did not rule out “criminal liability.”
“We do not rule anything out until we have completed a thorough review of the MOA in question and the laws applicable to that agreement,” he said.
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What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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