Morales says he sought ‘external partner’ to review processes in PhilHealth

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) president and chief executive officer Ricardo Morales bared on Wednesday that he had previously sought an “external partner” that would help review processes being practiced at the state insurance firm.

“Naghanap ako ng external partner na makatulong na makapagreview sa mga proseso ng PhilHealth, parang may consulting firm na may international experience, global experience na alam nila ang ginagawa sa ibang bansa para makakuha sila ng ibang example doon at masusubukan natin dito,” Morales said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(I tried to search for an external partner that could help review the processes in PhilHealth. It is like a consulting firm with international experience and knows other practices in other countries which we may apply here.)

However, Morales said PhilHealth was not able to tap such a firm, citing limitations in funds.

“Unang una, walang pondo. Hindi pa kayang hanapin kung magkano ba ang babayaran dito,” he said.

(First of all, we don’t have funds. We cannot allot funds that will be used to pay the firm.)

“Baka pwede namang loan sa ADB (Asian Development Bank). ‘Yun sana, kasi hindi kaya ng mga tao ngayon sa loob ng PhilHealth, dahil nga sa mga araw-araw na ginagawa, na mag-isip ng transformation. Kailangan may katulong kami dyan,” he further explained.

(We could get a loan from the ADB. The people in PhilHealth could not think of transformation in these processes because of everyday duties. We need help in doing that.)

Asked if PhilHealth officials could not do this task instead, Morales said: “Ngayon lang, pipirma lang ng ano (documents) hindi makapirma dahil nandoon sa mga hearing. So tinatakbo namin ‘yung mga papel doon.”

(Even now, officials who need to sign documents cannot do so because they are in the hearings. So the documents are being brought there.)

PhilHealth is currently subjected to separate investigations of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission for alleged irregularities, including those related to its information technology system and Interim Reimbursement Mechanism for COVID-19 patients.

EDV