Palace on Roque seeking PhilHealth abolition: Bark up the right tree

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang said on Monday (Aug 19) that former presidential spokespeson Harry Roque should address his suggestion to abolish the Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) to Congress.

“If he wants it abolished then address it to Congress,” Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

Panelo also urged Roque, lawyer for two whistleblowers who exposed a scheme to claim payments for “ghost” dialysis sessions, to press charges against former and current PhilHealth officials if he believed they are involved in the irregularities.

“If Mr. Roque has goods on any official of the PhilHealth, then he should file the appropriate charges,” he said.

Roque said he was willing to file the cases for free, if new PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales would provide him the documents needed to identify the officials involved in the fraudulent paymenrs.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s former official mouthpiece also said he was planning to file cases against former PhilHealth president Roy Ferrer and the PhilHealth board for accrediting hospitals involved in ghost claims.

At a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing last week, Ferrer and former board member Roberto Salvador, Jr. tagged several regional vice presidents as part of a supposed “mafia” that helped hospitals dupe the state health insurance agency.

The Senate probe came after the Inquirer reported that PhilHealth had been paying for bogus claims and “upscaled” cases, or illnesses that were reported to be worse than they actually were to charge a bigger amount in health insurance./TSB

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