Salceda believes Gierran qualified to be PhilHealth chief

Former NBI director now PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran. INQUIRER.net file photo / CATHY MIRANDA

MANILA, Philippines — Albay Rep. Joey Salceda believes newly appointed PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran is qualified for the post.

Salceda said the minimum qualifications for the post are at least seven (7) years of experience in the field of public health, management, finance, and health economics or a combination of any of this expertise.

“Strictly speaking, yes… His management experience clearly counts, and he is also an accountant,” Salceda told reporters when asked if he believes Gierran is qualified for the post as per the PhilHealth charter.

Salceda added that it is those that Gierran surrounds himself with that the public should watch out for.

“If he surrounds himself with honest and competent staff and associates from public health, finance, and economics, he will do well. If he institutes lasting reforms, with our help in Congress, he will improve the situation,” Salceda said.

“The Philhealth chief comes and goes, but the managers at the lower tiers stay, as do the structural issues. These are matters we should be vigilant about,” the lawmaker added.

Salceda likewise proposed structural reforms within PhilHealth to address the alleged anomalies hounding the agency.

In a 33-page report on the state health insurance system, the lawmaker called for a “system-audit” of PhilHealth, specifically on four areas within the agency where there could be reform—reserve fund management, collections, claims and benefits, and governance.

Salceda likewise recommended that the reserve fund be accumulated net earnings, instead of set-aside funds from gross collections, as they are under the current system.

Further, he said that the Bureau of Treasury should manage the reserve fund since this does not have to be integrated with the insurance operations.

“What we found is that the reserve fund has been shrinking despite PhilHealth being in the green for several years. As a result, investment income, which can increase the people’s health benefits, are also declining,” Salceda said.

The lawmaker also pointed out that PhilHealth is primarily an insurance and investment operation and not a health operation.

Salceda also disproved claims that PhilHealth will lose P90 billion this year.

The lawmaker was referring to earlier pronouncements made by PhilHealth officials that the agency expects a net operating loss of P90 billion this year and P147 billion in 2021 if the pandemic persists and no vaccine is discovered.

“Philhealth is definitely bound to lose money this year. But our findings, based on their own financial reports, show these supposedly actuarial projections to be overstated. They were in the red just by P5.99 billion for the first half of 2020, an acceptable loss given the circumstance,” Salceda said.

“If they are to lose P90 billion this year, that would mean they will face a P84 billion shortfall for the rest of the year. This is simply not happening, given their own financial history,” the lawmaker added.

CFC