Duque eyeing revamp of Philhealth’s accreditation unit

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is eyeing a management reshuffle of the Accreditation Unit of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) in the wake of the “ghost dialysis” scam that is now hounding the agency.

“Ang tamang unang hakbang ay irevamp itong unit na ito kung saan nakalusot o pinalusot itong [ghost dialysis treatments],” Duque told Radyo Inquirer on Tuesday.

“Kung tawagin natin ‘yan yung accreditation committee ni-recommend sila ng [National Capital Region] Philhealth operations na i-revoke yung kanilang accreditation pinabalik despite may substantial evidence na may anomalya,” he added.

Duque explained that there are only five officials in the committee, noting that there should be more employees and legal services managing the unit.

“Mga lima ito ang kaso pati ito kailangan dagdagan ng kapasidad, kailangan nito meron silang institutional representation kailangan may lawyer,” he said.

In an Inquirer report, Quezon City-based WellMed Dialysis & Laboratory Center Corp. (WellMed) had allegedly asked PhilHealth for the dialysis payments of already deceased patients.  (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)

READ: Duterte to NBI: Arrest owners of health centers in ‘ghost’ dialysis scam