Expresses hope that PRC would continue COVID-19 tests for gov’t
(Eagle News) – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) said that it will start paying its debt on Monday, Oct. 26, to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) for the COVID-19 tests it had conducted.
With this development, Philhealth said that it hoped the PRC would continue conducting COVID-19 tests which had affected thousands of returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)
Earlier estimates said Philhealth owed the PRC some P931 million for COVID-19 tests which it had earlier promised to pay.
In its statement posted on its twitter account, Philhealth did not say how much it would pay the PRC.
Philhealth said that after receiving the legal opinion from the Department of Justice (DOJ), it will release payment to PRC on Monday “subject to completeness of billing requirements submitted by the PRC” and in compliance to the rules of the Commission on Audit.
“Having been in receipt today of the DOJ legal opinion saying that the PhilHealth-PRC MOA is not subject to Procurement Law, PhilHealth will release payment on Monday, October 26, 2020, subject to completeness of billing requirements submitted by the PRC,” Philhealth said on Friday, Oct. 23.
“This should enable the PRC to immediately resume its testing of swab specimen of concerned sectors which PhilHealth pays for,” it said.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III earlier said that more than 6,000 OFWs have been affected in different quarantine facilities in Metro Manila after the Red Cross stopped conducting and processing COVID-19 tests for the government due to unpaid bills.
Bello said that since the PRC stopped its COVID-19 tests on Oct. 15, repatriated OFWs had to stay longer in quarantine sites as they await virus test results. Before this, tests results can be received within one or two days after testing.
As of Oct. 6, the PRC had finished 1 million tests. On. Oct. 13, it billed PhilhealthP1,014,975,500, but P930,993,000 remained unpaid.
Its COVID-19 test fee costs P3,500 which it charges to Philhealth.
(Eagle News Service)