The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday assured that the government is up to date in settling the claims of private hospitals serving indigent patients.

In a radio interview, DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa said he is looking into reports of alleged P480 million unpaid guarantee letters to hospitals in Batangas.

"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," Herbosa said.

The Health chief said while he doesn't know the exact figure, he said there are only a handful of hospitals with unpaid claims.

"We may perhaps need to consolidate their claims and what exactly can pay under DOH funds," Herbosa added.

Herbosa made the statement after the Philippine Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPi) said it has suspended honoring guarantee letters from the government's Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) after unpaid dues reached P530 million.

The PHAPi said that 43 hospitals in Batangas have yet to receive some P480 million payment from the government.

In a message to reporters, Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo assured the DOH will continue to reconcile payables to specific private hospitals in compliance with prevailing laws and policies.

Domingo added that the DOH has also been increasing the amounts the Philippine Health Corp. (PhilHealth) pays to hospitals, while decreasing the waiting time to do so.

"Payment through PhilHealth should be better than through the MAIFIP system," he noted.

Herbosa and Domingo both reiterated that guarantee letters are not needed in DOH hospitals.

"We don't issue any guarantee letters. We don't give that out. We have programs, which we call MAIFIP. 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," Herbosa said.

"It is best for all Philippine hospitals to review the Universal Health Care Act - always assess the paying capacity of patients and admit them to basic or ward accomodation for zero balance billing, or refer them to nearby DOH or government hospitals," Domingo added.

The Palace likewise clarified on Tuesday that the Health department has sufficient funds to settle hospital claims and treatments for indigent patients.