PhilHealth consults public on Universal Health Care law

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has been going around the country to consult stakeholders on the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) law.

According to PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Ricardo Morales, the agency has been conducting public consultations nationwide to involve all concerned sectors and individuals in the discussion on how the UHC law should be carried out.

“We are going around the country so that all stakeholders – the hospitals, medical professionals and, of course, the beneficiaries or the public are consulted. We want to ask them how they want the UHC to be implemented,” he told The STAR in an interview.

Last February, President Duterte signed Republic Act 11223, or the UHC law which will automatically enroll all Filipinos in the National Health Insurance Program, which is handled by PhilHealth.

Morales admitted that ensuring the smooth implementation of UHC and addressing the “negative image” of PhilHealth brought on by alleged anomalies are the biggest challenges that the state insurer must overcome.

 “We have to face those challenges to prove to the taxpayers – the owner of this corporation – that their money is not going to be misspent. And if there is any evidence of wrongdoing, the law will take its course,” he noted.

Asked about the funding shortage that PhilHealth will face in implementing UHC, he maintained that it is the “problem of the secretary of finance to determine where to get the funding.”

Morales added the challenge for PhilHealth is to make sure that funds are not going to be wasted and that they are spent “efficiently.”

CSC upholds 2018 reshuffles

Meanwhile, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) recently upheld its earlier ruling on the motion for reconsideration filed by three PhilHealth regional vice presidents who were reshuffled in 2018.

In a statement, PhilHealth said that in three separate resolutions dated May 6 and June 18, 2019, respectively, the CSC denied the motion for reconsideration of Dennis Adre, Orlando Iñigo Jr. and Arsenia Torres for lack of merit.

According to PhilHealth, Adre, Iñigo and Torres were among the senior officers directed by former PhilHealth chiefs Roy Ferrer and Celestina Ma. Jude dela Serna to transfer assignments through Corporate Personnel Order (CPO) Nos. 2018-1278 dated July 4, 2018 and 2018-0763 dated April 23, 2018.

The officials appealed the reshuffle with the CSC, which the latter denied in 2018, affirming that the CPOs issued by the agency are in order, with one decision clearly indicating that the order “was issued not in contravention of the applicable rules on reassignment.”

“The commission’s recent decision affirms that the reassignments are above board and recognizes the authority of its Board of Directors as delegated to the head of agency to rotate and reassign officers,” PhilHealth noted.

The agency added it is still “awaiting CSC’s ‘favorable decision’ on at least four more appeals lodged by other regional officers, many of whom have been in their posts in the last 20 years.”