PhilHealth extends accreditation of health facilities as some hospitals decide not to renew

PhilHealth on Wednesday announced a one-month extension of the validity of all currently accredited health facilities, after a number of hospitals said they would no longer renew accreditation starting January.

In an advisory, PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Atty. Dante Gierran said the agency will extend the validity of accreditation for all health facilities currently registered to January 31, 2022.

Gierran said, however, that health facilities must have submitted their complete applications for accreditation in 2022 on or before January 31, 2022.

“Applications received for continuous/renewal of accreditation beyond January 31, 2022 may result to a gap in accreditation,” PhilHealth said in the advisory.

Seven private hospitals in Iloilo, along with the Far Eastern University-Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation (FEU-NRMF), earlier decided to cut ties with PhilHealth over the delayed payment of claims.

Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) President Dr. Jose Rene De Grano earlier this week also called on the members of the group to refrain from accepting PhilHealth reimbursements from January 1 to January 5, 2022 in support of the decision of the hospitals to no longer renew accreditation with PhilHealth.

PhilHealth, in response, called on member hospitals to reconsider the planned five-day ‘PhilHealth holiday’ protest, as the Filipino people would suffer the consequences. This was heeded by PHAPI.

Under its mandate, PhilHealth is tasked to administer the National Health Insurance Program which aims to provide health insurance coverage and ensure affordable, acceptable, available, and accessible health care services for all citizens of the Philippines.

PhilHealth last month said it is seeking to settle unpaid claims to private hospitals by December, as it blamed the lack of manpower amid the COVID-19 pandemic. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News