DOH up to date with payments, unpaid private hospitals lack documents —Herbosa

GMA Network

09-07-2025

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said Wednesday the government is up to date in settling the claims of private hospitals serving indigent patients amid reported problem with guarantee letters issued by politicians.
In an Unang Balita interview, Herbosa said he is looking into reports of alleged P480 million unpaid guarantee letters to hospitals in Batangas.
'Actually, tinanong ko sa aming regional directors ito. According to them, ang kanilang turn-around time ng pagbabayad ay nasa three months so mukhang updated naman sila at 'yung mga di bayad, karamihan po diyan may kakulangan ng documentary requirements ng regional offices,' he said.
(Their turn-around time for payments are within three months so it seems like they are updated, and those who are unpaid are mostly the ones with insufficient documentary requirements in regional offices.)
'Baka mas mababa pa [sa P480 million 'yung pending payments], kasi di ko alam 'yung exact figure… pero iilan lang 'yung mga ospital na di pa bayad sa kanilang mga kineclaim. Kailangan namin sigurong magconsolidate kung ano 'yung kine-claim nila at kung ano 'yung talagang pwedeng bayaran sa pondo ng DOH,' he added.
(It may be lower [than P480 million], since I don't know the exact figure… but there are only a handful of hospitals with unpaid claims. We may perhaps need to consolidate their claims and what exactly we can pay under DOH funds.)
Herbosa reiterated that the DOH does not issue any guarantee letters as patients can just directly visit DOH public hospitals.
'Alam mo, wala naman kaming guarantee letter na binibigay. Di kami nagbibigay. Meron kaming programa, ang tawag diyan Medical Assistance For Indigent Patients And Financially Incapacitated Patients. Itong programa na ito, tumutulong sa mga pasyenteng kulang ang pambayad, lalo na kung kulang 'yung binayad ng PhilHealth at iba pang gastusin sa ospital, pero di kami nagbibigay ng guarantee letter po,' he shared.
(You know, we don't issue any guarantee letters. We don't give that out. We have programs, which we call Medical Assistance For Indigent Patients And Financially Incapacitated Patients. This program helps patients who lack money to pay bills, especially if PhilHealth does not cover much on top of other hospital cost, but we don't issue any guarantee letters.)
'Eh gusto ko malaman kung saan nanggaling 'yung guarantee letter po. Pag kayo pumunta sa public hospital sa DOH, walang guarantee letter pong kailangan,' he continued.
(I want to know where the guarantee letter came from. If you go to a DOH public hospital, there is no need for a guarantee letter.)
The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. said on Monday that 43 hospitals in Batangas have yet to receive some P480 million in payment from the government.
Malacañang clarified on Tuesday that the DOH has sufficient funds to settle hospital claims and treatments for indigent patients.
'Hindi naman po nagkakaproblema ang gobyerno patungkol po sa pagbabayad ng mga bills po ng ating mga kababayan na covered po ng guarantee letters,' Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said.
(The government does not encounter problems in settling bills for Filipinos who are covered with guarantee letters.)
'Dito lamang po sa 39 hospitals na kinakailangan po ng DOH iyong ibang mga dokumento para po sila'y mabayaran. So doon po sa maniningil na mga hospitals, kumpletuhin lang po iyong inyong mga dokumento dahil po ang DOH ang sinasabi sa atin ay may sapat na pondo,' Castro explained.
(In these 39 hospitals, the DOH needs documents so they can get paid. So for those hospitals, just complete the documents needed by the DOH because the latter is saying that it has enough funds.)
The Palace also noted that patients may visit DOH hospitals for treatment without need for guarantee letters. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/AOL, GMA Integrated News