Angara urges PhilHealth to bolster its record database through digitization

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Sonny Angara urged the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to strengthen its database system through the digitization of records.

Angara said that through digitization, PhilHealth can bolster its anti-fraud mechanisms as part of the ongoing efforts to rid the institution of wastage due to corruption and inefficient systems.

The digitization of records and utilizing a system that would validate membership claims has already been used with pension funds Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System.

Angara made these recommendations in a letter he sent to Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III as the presiding officer of the Committee of the Whole that recently concluded hearings on the controversies regarding PhilHealth.

“They (PhilHealth) should likewise look into strengthening their manpower complement by hiring more medical reviewers, anti-fraud officers, data scientists, data analytics personnel, and even experts in artificial intelligence and big data,” wrote Angara in the letter.

It was during the hearings that now resigned PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales disclosed that there are 5,000 members who are listed as being 130 years old with no information to show if they are dead or alive. This is a reason to digitize the agency’s records database, said Angara.

For context, 117-year-old Kane Tanaka of Japan is recognized as the oldest person in the world.

A television report that aired earlier this week showed how a senior citizen was told that he was already dead for four years already based on his PhilHealth member data record.

Angara, in his letter to Sotto, also reiterated his call for PhilHealth to immediately release the detailed guidelines on the deferred liquidation of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) interim reimbursement mechanism funds.

“PhilHealth, being a recipient of government funds, should ensure that these are paid, released, and accounted for according to existing rules and regulations,” said Angara.

/MUF