Garin: Outsourcing Philhealth services to make them faster, efficient

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has proposed that the services of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) should be outsourced to become more efficient for its members.

According to House Deputy Majority Leader Representative Janette Garin, this will result in faster services and fewer instances of fraud.

READ: Rep. Garin: Increasing coverage of PhilHealth benefits ‘doable’

“Mas mai-streamline ang admin cost, una ‘yan. Mas magiging mabilis ang serbisyo at malamang mababawasan ‘yung fraud,” Garin said on Friday.

(First of all, admin costs will be streamlined. Services will be faster and incidents of fraud may be reduced.)

Garin added that the services of PhilHealth should be comparable to private insurance or Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).

“Ang mangyayari niyan para kang HMO, kapareho ng ating mga private insurance, i-outsource ‘yan Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao through a government procurement process, kung sino ang manalo, siya ang magiging service provider, siya ang gagawa ng trabaho ng PhilHealth na makikipagugnayan dito sa ating mga ospital, healthcare providers and healthcare professionals,” she said.

(What will happen is that it will be like HMOs, like private insurance, that will be outsourced through Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao through a government procurement process. Whoever wins the bid will be the service provider; they will be the ones to do PhilHealth’s job to coordinate with hospitals, healthcare providers, and healthcare professionals.)

She continued that while this will not necessarily mean that member contributions will be decreased, this would nevertheless result in efficiency.

“Hindi magiging mura pero pareho lang. Ang magiging difference doon ay iyong efficiency,” Garin added.

(It will not be cheap, but the same. The difference is the efficiency.)

READ: PhilHealth charter review, more benefits for members pushed