Malacañang assured the public on Monday that the Department of Health (DOH) has enough funds to pay private hospitals for services rendered to indigent patients.

Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro addressed concerns that some hospitals have stopped accepting government-issued guarantee letters for patients who cannot afford to pay their hospital bills.

Citing reports from the DOH, Castro lamented that 39 hospitals in Batangas are facing issues with guarantee letters due to incomplete or missing documentation.

“Hindi naman po nagkakaproblema ang gobyerno patungkol po sa pagbabayad ng mga bills po ng ating mga kababayan na covered po ng guarantee letters (There is no problem on the part of the government when it comes to paying hospital bills for our fellow citizens covered by guarantee letters),” Castro said.

“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 (These 39 hospitals simply need to complete the required documents in order to be paid. According to the DOH, they have sufficient funds allocated for this purpose),” she added.

Castro emphasized that under the Universal Health Care Act and a memorandum of agreement between the DOH and private hospitals, the latter are obligated to reserve 10 percent of their authorized bed capacity for indigent patients.

She also reminded the public that under PhilHealth, qualified patients are entitled to zero hospital billing. Moreover, financially challenged individuals can directly seek treatment at DOH-run hospitals without needing guarantee letters from government officials.