Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) — PhilHealth now has to cover hospital claim payments in all areas with high and critical risk of COVID-19 with the newest resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In a statement on Friday, Presidential and IATF Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed the body has approved the day prior the application of the state health insurer’s debit-credit payment method, or DCPM, in the said areas. This is among the provisions of IATF Resolution No. 111.
“PhilHealth, in its Circular 2021-0004, provides for the use of the DCPM to facilitate the settlement of accounts payable to healthcare facilities during the State of Public Health Emergency brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Roque.
Prior to the resolution’s issuance, the scheme only covered Metro Manila, Batangas, Cavite and Laguna otherwise known as the Greater Manila Area along with Pampanga and Bulacan. These places have been seeing an alarming rise in confirmed cases, with the government even placing the Greater Manila Area under stricter quarantine measures.
“These other high risk and critical risk areas will also be prioritized in the COVID-19 vaccine allocation, human health resource deployment, and other relevant COVID-19 response, as applicable,” added the spokesman.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered PhilHealth to speed up its settlement of valid claims as hospitals scramble to deal with the influx of patients amid the raging health crisis.
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The Philippines currently has nearly 980,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Over 860,000 have recovered from the disease, which has now claimed more than 16,500 lives.
