Go: Upgrade PhilHealth’s outdated system

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go urged an immediate updating of the reported outdated system of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to improve the agency’s service to the people.

Go, chairperson of the Senate committee on health, said PhilHealth officials should address inefficiencies in data consolidation that have been causing delays in services, particularly in municipalities and far-flung areas.

“From the LGUs (local government units) to the PhilHealth Central Office, the system and server of PhilHealth are reportedly very slow, and they can’t consolidate data from municipalities and cities because the system is outdated,” Go said. “What are your plans regarding this? Do you have plans to create a new server? This means, apparently, that the equipment is quite outdated. That’s why your services are suffering.”

Go also turned to the Department of Health for further discussion, signaling that the issue of PhilHealth’s inefficiencies would require broader coordination with the DOH.

The senator has long pushed for reforms in the country’s health sector, particularly in ensuring that government programs reach communities efficiently. With PhilHealth managing billions in public funds, he emphasized the urgent need for modernized systems to prevent bureaucratic delays and ensure that Filipinos receive the medical assistance they need without unnecessary hurdles.

Go emphasized that the agency’s aging servers and systems were hampering operations, citing complaints from LGUs and other stakeholders.

“PhilHealth has a lot of money, but they are using computers that are at a first-grade level, especially their server. No matter how much you improve the services, if the system is the problem, you won’t get proper service with such an issue,” he said.

Go stressed that these observations come from the ground and should not be ignored by PhilHealth officials. He called on them to review and address these issues immediately.

He specifically directed his concerns to PhilHealth president and CEO Edwin Mercado, urging the agency to take these observations constructively.