MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) should undergo reorganization following the controversy over the cost of its new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing package that was higher than that of other groups, according to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.
Drilon, who was the first to question the P8,150 price for the testing kit, said there was negligence at the very least on the part of PhilHealth regarding this matter, although it was hard to say if there was a criminal aspect.
PhilHealth has since halved the amount of the testing package.
Drilon said although he was happy about this he thought it could still be lower to match the P3,500 cost of COVID-19 testing at Philippine Red Cross.
But Drilon said reforms were needed within the state insurance firm.
“It is clear that there should be a reorganization in PhilHealth. This has happened more than once. It’s time to take a good look at the organization and weed out the incompetent and the corrupt,” he said in an interview over dwIZ.
People should keep an eye on PhilHealth and address any gaps in the agency such as the overpricing, he said.
Money would have been lost
Had this not been exposed, the country would have lost a great deal of money, Drilon said.
PhilHealth should also be careful in paying out hospital claims for COVID-19 testing using the old package rate, as it could be liable if it does so.
There is a need to be careful about spending funds because the government is scrambling to get resources amid the health crisis, he said.
He earlier said some P8 billion in taxpayers’ money could have been lost.
Meanwhile, Drilon also said he was now convinced that he should have joined his 14 colleagues who filed a resolution calling for Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s resignation.
He said Duque did not seem to have a grasp of the COVID-19 situation in the country since he would always have to turn to his subordinates whenever he was asked questions.
Malacañang said Duque still had the trust and confidence of the President.
Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he was not satisfied by Duque’s explanation about the Department of Health’s (DOH) procurement of testing machines that were more expensive than the ones bought by private firms.
Lacson said Duque passed on the matter to the procurement service, but it turned out that the agency was just performing a ministerial task because the specific request came from the DOH.
Procurements questioned
He also said even people within the DOH had questions about its procurements, because the data he has were passed on to him by insiders.
Lacson also said he was dismayed and disappointed by Duque’s performance after the senators called for his resignation, as he thought the health chief did not exert effort to do better.
For him, Duque showed “hubris” and said too much self confidence could be detrimental to one’s work.
“He should not just depend on the trust and confidence of the president,” Lacson added.
If the country’s COVID-19 response does not improve, more people could be harmed, he warned.