PhilHealth: No connivance in Covid ‘money-making’

By Gaby B. Keith

BAGUIO CITY -- The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) denied it was in connivance with unscrupulous institutions or individuals who are allegedly turning the Coronavirus disease pandemic into a money-making venture. 

Philhealth Cordillera acting regional vice president Dr. Dominga Gadgad, in a recent media forum here at city hall, urged members to immediately report any medical facility or practitioner who they believe  are using the ongoing coronavirus-2019 pandemic  to make money by falsely insisting that a patient has Covid  in order to file hefty claims from the government insurer.
    She said that the complaint must be accompanied by evidence in accordance with the rule of law.

Gadgad said all claims filed at Philhealth comes with a chart and that all covid claims are scrutinized by a medical doctor. 

If the claim doesn’t pass approved infectious disease  guidelines, then is not paid by Philhealth, she added.

“Philhealth does not tolerate any illegal practice whatsoever,” Gadgad  said.

“Let me remind you that the money of Philhealth is everybody’s money.  It is then everyone’s responsibility to protect the fund,” she said.

Asked to comment on the issue, Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center chief Dr. Ricardo Runez declared no illegal activity was happening in his facility since they regularly conduct strict monitoring to make sure that none of their patients are victimized.

City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo said that only an RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test can confirm whether a patient is positive with covid-19 or not and it is on the results of this test alone that a Philhealth claim is based.

 “It is only the RT-PCR test that can determine whether one has covid and not due to the insistence of a doctor or facility,” she said.