A RESOLUTION filed at the House of Representatives seeks an inquiry into persistent delays in government payments to public and private hospitals, warning that the lapses have “endangered lives, crippled institutions, and violated the constitutional right to health.”
The measure directs the committees on health, good government and public accountability, and appropriations to conduct a joint inquiry to determine the full extent and human impact of the payment backlogs by the Department of Health (DOH), the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and other concerned agencies.
The resolution filed by Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Robert Nazal said the latest trigger for the inquiry was the July 6 announcement by the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) that many of its member hospitals would stop accepting guarantee letters for indigent patients due to more than P530 million in unpaid claims.
According to PHAPI, one hospital in Batangas province alone is owed P94 million for services already rendered.
“These are not theoretical debts. These are emergency surgeries completed, infants delivered, chemotherapy administered, and lives momentarily saved—now threatened by bureaucratic neglect,” Nazal stated in the resolution.
“Every unpaid claim is a mother turned away, a child denied urgent treatment, and a family plunged into grief or debt for care they were promised would be free,” he stressed.
Nazal asserted that the heart of the country’s healthcare system lies not in policy pronouncements but in the timely delivery of services. When government delays or refuses to pay hospitals and healthcare workers, that delivery fails—and lives are put at risk, he said.
Citing the Universal Health Care Act and the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act, Nazal said pertinent agencies are required to process and pay legitimate claims within a prescribed period.
Yet these deadlines, he pointed out, are “routinely ignored, with no consequence, no accountability, and no sense of urgency.”
He also stressed that in the Philippines, delayed treatment too often leads to death, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable who rely on public support.
“We ask our doctors to do miracles, but we won’t even pay them on time,” the resolution read. “No health worker should be forced to choose between service and survival, nor any hospital between compassion and closure.”
Nazal also underscored the need for accountability and transparency in addressing the crisis.
He called for a full investigation into the root causes of the delays, including flaws in digital claims systems, cumbersome fund release procedures, and outdated internal controls.
The party-list lawmaker said responsible officials must be identified and held to account if found guilty of gross negligence, misconduct, or criminal dereliction of duty.
The inquiry is also expected to examine reported abuses by healthcare providers under the case-rate system.
Nazal also cited the need to scrutinize hospitals allegedly engaged in overcharging and fraudulent billing, while recommending safeguards such as regular audits, stricter penalties, public disclosure of billing practices, and the creation of independent grievance mechanisms.
He proposed several long-term reforms, including legally enforceable payment deadlines, a real-time public dashboard to track claims from submission to settlement, an independent oversight body with investigative powers, and the establishment of a dedicated fund for indigent patients—free from bureaucratic obstruction and political interference.
Nazal emphasized that while the government must be held accountable for its lapses, private institutions must also uphold ethical standards.
He noted that some hospitals have allegedly manipulated case rates, further underscoring the need for tighter oversight and shared responsibility in the healthcare system.
“These are no longer mere accounting backlogs. These are clearly moral failures. We cannot heal a nation if we starve its hospitals. We must act now to protect every Filipino’s right to timely, accessible, and life-saving care,” Nazal said.
