Roque: PhilHealth fund woes due to corruption

MANILA, Philippines — Aside from declining revenue, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is likewise losing money due to corruption, and this must stop, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Philhealth President Ricardo Morales asked for a delay in the implementation of the Universal Health Care law because of the state health insurer’s declining revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawmakers bucked Morales’ proposal on Wednesday, saying the pandemic should actually be a reason to pursue the implementation of the health care law.

Looking for money

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government’s economic team was looking for money to implement the law.

“The government is committed to [the Universal Health Care law], particularly to ensure the access of our most vulnerable groups to much-needed health care, especially during this difficult time,” Dominguez said.

Speaking in a radio interview, Roque said he was planning to expose more irregularities in PhilHealth, which, according to him, was losing money due to these irregularities.

He said PhilHealth should not blame its lack of funds on the President’s decision to make the contributions of overseas Filipino workers voluntary.

“Its fund is being depleted and we have long been saying that — hundreds of billions being lost to corruption,” he said.

Roque said he was having a hard time exposing corruption in PhilHealth because of his duties as presidential spokesperson, but he could not allow the implementation of the health care law, which he co-authored, to be derailed due to irregularities.

He said he was thinking of taking a leave as presidential spokesperson and devoting his time to cleaning up PhilHealth.

No action taken

In a separate interview with Radyo Inquirer, Roque said he had yet to see Morales take action and file charges against crooks in the agency.

He said he wanted to personally see what steps Morales had taken to hold people in Philhealth accountable.

“I have yet to hear of any person fired by Morales or any investigation he had undertaken,” Roque said.

The Universal Health Care program has to be funded, as it is mandated by law, he added.

PhilHealth pays for the medical bills of COVID-19 patients and also provides primary health benefits to Filipinos.

Payment of premiums declined when the government placed Luzon on lockdown in mid-March to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Other regions followed with their own lockdowns, halting economic activity in much of the country.

Morales told a hearing called by a joint congressional oversight committee on Tuesday that Republic Act No. 11223, the Universal Health Care law that President Rodrigo Duterte signed in March last year, may have to be sidelined because PhilHealth’s collections this year had dropped by 90 percent due to the lockdowns.

He estimated that PhilHealth would have a budget deficit of about P100 billion starting end of this year until 2024, as the national government allocated only P71.35 billion for health care programs for 2020.

Realign funds

But Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, a former head of the Senate finance committee, said PhilHealth did not need to delay implementation of the law for lack of budget, as the government could just realign funds from other state agencies.

Instead of scrimping on medical benefits, he said, the government should cut back on “unnecessary expenses [and] administrative costs” like maintenance and other operating expenses.

‘It’s just a matter of priority,” Recto told the Inquirer in a Viber message.

“Consumers, workers and investors will not have confidence in the economy if we do not prioritize health spending,” he said.

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, who led Tuesday’s hearing as Senate health committee chief, was also cool to Morales’ proposal. He urged finance officials to look for ways to bankroll the programs under the health care law.

“Congress approved the [Universal Health Care] law and made a promise to our poor countrymen that PhilHealth [would handle] their medical needs,” Go said. “I’m calling on the economic managers to prioritize this matter. PhilHealth is very important to us and to our health care system. Now more than ever, we should prioritize the health [sector]. We must do what we can to ensure that every Filipino can have access to universal health care.”

The Inquirer asked Dominguez about possible sources of funds, but he had yet to respond as of press time on Wednesday night.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dominguez said the Department of Finance, PhilHealth and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) were discussing how to solve PhilHealth’s financial problems and proceed with the implementation of the health care law.

PhilHealth 2021 budget

Assistant Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo said the DBM had yet to determine PhilHealth’s 2021 budget and the amount of subsidies it would receive from the national government next year.

In a report, the DBM said it released in April P48.2 billion to PhilHealth for payment of COVID-19 health insurance premiums of senior citizens and indigent patients.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said on Saturday that about P27 billion in subsidies was released to PhilHealth last week, making June the first month in 2020 that the agency received a subsidy from the national government.

Last month, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado told a Senate hearing that PhilHealth would get P71.3 billion in subsidies this year.

On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Morales’ recommendation was a “step in the wrong direction” and that there were other ways to solve PhilHealth’s financial concerns.

Drilon, who had uncovered the overpriced PhilHealth packages for new coronavirus tests, said the condition of the country’s health care system was critical in containing the spread of the virus.

“If COVID-19 taught us something, it is that we need to keep people healthy and we have to prepare for the next pandemic,” Drilon said.

‘Do your part of the bargain’

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chair of the House tax-writing panel, objected to delaying the health care law.

Salceda said he was not convinced that taxpayers should bear the brunt of PhilHealth’s financial problems.

“As for the proposal to delay, I strongly object. Present to Congress and the people operationalized alternatives before you tell us you cannot do it. You urged us to pass [the Universal Health Care law] quickly. Do your part of the bargain,” he said.

Salceda, who heads the ways and means committee, said Congress had passed successive increases in sin taxes “precisely to fulfill both consumption objectives and funding objectives” of the Universal Health Care law.

“I would like to see improvements in service delivery first before I am convinced that we should impose new taxes,” he said.

Reached for comment, Morales said restarting the economy was the “only real solution” to PhilHealth’s money woes.

The government has loosened coronavirus restrictions in Metro Manila to allow more businesses to resume operations, but the lack of public transportation is making it difficult for millions of people to return to work.

—With reports from Marlon Ramos, DJ Yap, Ben O. de Vera and Jovic Yee