CALOOCAN CITY, (PIA) — The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Wednesday assured that it will pay off the P27 billion it owed to hospitals in the country, incurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is after the officials of the state health insurer appeared in the hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations on the P199 billion budget proposal of the Department of Health (DOH) under the government’s 2024 national budget.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has slashed P10 billion funds from the DOH budget next year, compared to the P209 billion allocation this year.
“Within 90 days, we will try to pay a very high percentage of P27 billion. I am confident that within 90 days from today, majority, if not all, will be paid off,” said PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr.
Ledesma was asked by Agri Partylist Representative Wilbert Lee on the current state of PhilHealth’s obligations to hospitals that increased during the pandemic. (PIA-NCR)
