A former employee of WellMed Dialysis & Laboratory Center Corp. in Novaliches, Quezon City, accuses his former employer of filing PhilHealth claims for dialysis sessions on behalf of a patient who had already died and said that PhilHealth continues to pay without verifying the claims. INQUIRER file photo / LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to file criminal charges against people behind the ghost dialysis treatments, Malacañang said Friday.
“The Palace views with deep concern the allegations of irregularities involving the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), particularly those with regard to the reported anomalies in connection with bogus kidney dialysis treatments,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
Panelo said PhilHealth has so far only “filed several administrative complaints against those involved in the fraud.”
“The President directs the management of the PhilHealth to institute criminal actions against those officials and employees who wittingly or unwittingly allowed such misuse of funds to take place for years,” he said.
“The President instructs the institution’s acting President to submit a detailed report on these irregularities. We will put a stop to this corruption and we will make sure that the law on universal health care is strictly enforced,” he added.
“The Duterte administration,” he said, “is steadfast in its goal to eliminate corruption in all levels of the bureaucracy.”
“All persons involved in the alleged fraud will be prosecuted and face accountability. They shall reap the harshest penalty imposed by law. Nothing can shield them from prosecution and punishment,” he added.
Inquirer first reported on Thursday about a dialysis center in Quezon City, claiming payment from PhilHealth for dialysis treatments it purportedly administered, but the supposed patients were already dead. (Editor: Katherine G. Adraneda)