President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has approved a 120-day extension for hospitals to file reimbursement claims with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Malacañang said Wednesday, December 17.
The move aims to ease delays in settling payments from the state health insurer.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the directive comes amid over ₱1 billion in unpaid and returned hospital claims.
Earlier, the Commission on Audit reported that 13 Department of Health-managed hospitals faced operational disruptions due to uncollected PhilHealth claims.
“Dahil dito po ay ipinag-utos din po ng Pangulo na i-extend po ang maaaring period para makapag-claim ang ibang ospital. Na-extend po ito up to 120 days, ito po iyong tinatawag na claims flexibility at dahil dito po ay natutugunan po ng DOH (at) ng PhilHealth ang kanilang mga obligasyon,” Castro said.
“Basta po ang nais lang din po natin, ang mga ospital po ay makapagbigay ng kanilang mga dokumento sa tamang oras at panahon.”
Audit findings showed denied claims totaled ₱786.65 million, while return-to-hospital claims reached ₱29.76 million, largely due to noncompliance with PhilHealth’s processing guidelines.
The extension is expected to help hospitals meet documentation requirements and secure timely reimbursements.