Malacañang assured on Monday that the Department of Health (DOH) has enough funds to settle the claims of private hospitals for services and treatments provided to indigent patients.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro clarified reports that some health facilities have stopped accepting government guarantee letters covering the hospital bills of patients without the financial capacity to pay.

Castro said that, according to the Department of Health (DOH), 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,” Castro said in a press briefing.

“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.

Castro added that under the Universal Health Care Act and a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the DOH and private hospitals, the latter are required to allocate 10 percent of their authorized bed capacity for poor patients.

Indigent patients are entitled to zero hospital billing through the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Castro also said.

Financially incapacitated patients could also visit DOH hospitals without the need for guarantee letters from government officials. | PND