Published April 23, 2021, 12:12 AM The tug-of-war between private hospitals and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) rages on. Amid a surging pandemic and calls from the Department of Health (DOH) for provision of more beds and facilities, hospital owners report that they are constrained to lay off health workers as PhilHealth receivables have reportedly ballooned to about P30 billion. Private hospitals bear the brunt of tertiary health care as the DOH operates a limited number of district hospitals in regional and urban centers. This explains the stark reality that up to seven out of every 10 Filipinos live and die without seeing a doctor.